Keeping Up with the Joneses
by apikale-wahine
Summary: Sequel to Our Bright and Sunny Futures.  What goes around, comes around... now it's Velma's turn.  Meanwhile, Daphne's motherly instinct is having qualms about Janice...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Scooby-Doo. I do not believe in the possession of fellow sentient beings (including talking dogs).**

**A/N: **Okay... here it is, the sequal to Our Bright and Sunny Futures. I should explain a couple of things. First, I can't really promise you this will be any good, because I wasn't really thinking about writing it. See, I love irony, and the previous ending just seemed like a good way to end a story. Then it sort of dawned on me that I had so much fun writing the last one, and I couldn't just leave the characters behind, sitting on the couch, teetering on the verge of a revelation that never would be revealed. But I can't promise that new chapters will arrive nearly so fast as they did last time. Just don't count on one every couple hours, is all. Oh, and to clarify: Even though this is a sequel, THE TIME FRAME DOES OVERLAP. That is, the first few chapters of this story take place before the last chapter of OBASF. Hope that doesn't confuse anyone. Feel free to give an _honest_ review... positive or negative, I appreciate any comments/criticism, as long as it is constructive.

**Chapter 1:**

"Miss Velma Dinkley... please report to Mr. Mangetout's office promptly, Miss Velma Dinkley, Mr. Mangetout wishes to speak with you. Thank you."

Velma looked up from the message she had just finished translating as the intercom system clicked on. What did her boss want? She got up from her desk, stretching.

"Aw... Velma's in _trouble_..." said Shaggy in a singsongy voice, parodying the way they did when they were children and someone had been summoned to the principal's office.

Velma laughed. "Yeah... wait until they find out what kind of bad influences I've been around," she responded, indicating Shaggy, the only other person in the room. Then, checking to make sure they really were alone, she pecked him on the cheek before leaving.

"Now, was that like _my _influence on _you_? Because I'm pretty sure _you _just kissed _me_!"

Velma could have continued joking around, but she didn't want to keep Mr. Mangetout waiting. It was all she could do to shed the informal, flirty personality she developed around Shaggy and don the serious, professional mask for which she was famous. Standing as straight as she could, she walked out of the room and down the hall.

But seriously, what _did _Mr. Mangetout want? It was two-thirty in the afternoon, two days before Christmas. Two more hours and thirty minutes would pass, and then they wouldn't see each other again until January the second. It had been spelled out when she took the job last March that Christmas Eve through New Year's Day were days off-- the Coolsville Communication Center wouldn't even be open. That caused some inconvenience across the galaxy, but as the CCC respected the traditions of the other planets, adjustments were made. Only a handful of CCC employees who didn't celebrate Christmas and who were interested in receiving the very large bonus accompanying holiday labor remained to tackle any emergencies that might arise during everyone else's absence.

Velma stepped into the elevator, just one segment of the maze they called the CCC, and shivered slightly. She wasn't sure if that was because it was supposed to be one of the coldest Christmases on record, or because she was descending into one of the myriad basements, or because lately she often felt like she was coming down with the flu. That would be a bummer, to get sick this close to Christmas-- not that that didn't always seem to happen back when she was in elementary school. Then again, it could have just been chilly because an alien from Pluto had been notorious for turning the thermostat as low as possible.

She pulled on one of her famous orange sweaters, stepped out of the elevator, and turned left into Mr. Mangetout's office.

Mr. Mangetout greeted her. "Ms. Dinkley," he pronounced, an edge of excitement to his voice. "I wish to discuss with you an opportunity. Please be seated."

Velma sat in one of the green chairs across from his desk. She couldn't help but feel just a little shock of anticipation... what was this opportunity?

He began. "Within the CCC, we have a group known as the Hybrid Technology Research Team. The HTRT studies alien technology, then searches for means of incorporating it into applicable human uses and benefits. You would be surprised how many of our medicines, how much of our space technology, even some standard fuel and power resources, were not really invented by humans at all. And much of what was, was invented after being inspired by other innovations from other planets."

Velma nodded, her attention hooked.

"But as of late, the HTRT appears to be short of employees. They were looking for motivated individuals from elsewhere in the CCC who might be beneficial to the team." He paused.

"I recommended your name. Do you accept?"

Velma was speechless. Of course she would accept. But before the message made it from her complex brain to her mouth, a somehow-faster doubt won the race and came out first.

"I... am I really the right person for the job?" she wondered.

"Is that a no?"

"It's not a 'no.' But... I can't say so many of my studies deal with technology... I mean, I double-majored in marine biology and human factors engineering, but I don't know as much about how our technology really works..."

Mr. Mangetout smiled. "I understand your nervousness. But take a look at what you have accomplished over the previous year. Your work with Mr. Fizlayer has not been forgotten so quickly."

"I guess..."

"And your degrees will come in handy. Without your studies of ergonomics, a lot of the machinery, for example, developed could be inconvenient, even unsafe. Besides... you know you are a quick study."

Velma smiled back now. "Then... I guess I accept."

"Good." Mr. Mangetout stood up and walked toward the door, motioning for Velma to follow. "Mr. Harolds will be meeting with you shortly, to fill you in on all the details. I will miss having you in your old position, of course." He opened a door after walking down the hallway, up a spiral staircase, across an atrium, and up another staircase.

A tall, black-haired man wearing a green tie greeted Velma. "Hello, Miss Dinkley. I am Mr. Harolds. Mr. Mangetout has had nothing but positive comments with regards to your accomplishments. I take it he has informed you with respect to the HTRT?"

Velma nodded, as Mr. Mangetout walked away and Mr. Harolds led her into his office. His expression turned serious.

"Now you must understand, this job _is work. _There is no 'security duty.' And you will be expected to take work home now and then. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Velma answered. Really, this was just like the pep talks every teacher gave before every AP course she had taken in high school: a lot of work, a lot of responsibility, but a lot of honor. Right. She got it.

"Now, I will be introducing you to your partner. He is also new on the job, so you will be learning together. This may sound intimidating, but most people on the team agree that once you learn the ropes of this kind of work, it is easiest to work with someone with an equal experience level. You can always come to me or another team member if you have questions. Here's Judd MkKay now."

A man in perhaps his mid-thirties entered. He looked surprised to see Velma, then turned to Mr. Harolds, as if demanding an explanation.

"Mr. MkKay, this is Velma Dinkley."

He stared. "She's a kid."

Velma blushed. She was nineteen years old now, still young to be a college graduate, but she was honestly about the same size she had been at age thirteen. Maybe an inch or two taller; maybe five or ten pounds heavier; that was all. She tried to straighten up assertively.

"I'm your research partner," she told him, as Mr. Harolds left the room momentarily to answer the phone.

"Right..." Then MkKay started laughing. "Sorry... just that most people are in their forties or so by the time they get a job this good. Most of them don't have the whole 'hot librarian' look down like you have." He grinned in a pitiful attempt to be flirty.

_Back off, weirdo, _thought Velma. _I _have _a boyfriend. And he isn't fifteen years older than I am._

She was about to utter a more professional phrasing of her thoughts when Mr. Harolds came back. He spent the rest of the afternoon lecturing and explaining and introducing Velma and MkKay to all the people and technology they would be working with. By the time Velma arrived home, she _almost_ wished Christmas break would hurry up and be over so she could find out what her new job would really be like.

She smiled. There were only two things that kept her from actually making such a wish, and they included a certain scruffy childhood friend... and the _Phoradendron Flavescens_.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Okay, I admit it... that last chapter was kinda boring. But I felt it was necessary to set the sage so I put it in anyway. I think this one's a little better.

**Chapter 2:**

"So how is Janice, anyway?" Velma asked Daphne lightheartedly that evening. Everyone was gathered in Velma's apartment, which was amusingly starting to look more and more like Shaggy's every day. Being part of the same complex, it wasn't really any surprise that they had the same layout, but now that Shaggy and Velma were officially together, more personal touches were shared between the two residences. Sweaters, gloves, and jackets were commonly left at each other's houses. Photographs taken together hung in identical frames on identical walls. In fact, Velma's apartment had become somewhat messier, while Shaggy's grew cleaner, until they met somewhere in the middle. It was hard to shake the difficulty in discerning who was visiting whom.

Daphne smiled and reached for a slice of mushroom pizza. "She's fine. Daddy wanted to spend the evening with her; it's great that he doesn't mind babysitting once in a while. Sometimes I think it's the only thing that's keeping me sane!"

Freddie grinned at his wife. "Yeah... he's pretty cool like that."

Daphne was about to take another bite of pizza when she pulled it back again, having just remembered something she wanted to say. "Oh... I forgot... he called this afternoon to ask if we would like to use his ski lodge over the break, say from the twenty-seventh through the thirtieth or something. I told him Freddie and Janice and I would be there, but I wasn't sure if you guys could make it."

Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma answered at the same time, but not with the same response.

"Sure!"

"Reah!"

"Sorry, can't..."

Everyone looked at Velma. She began to explain.

"See, there's this meeting I have to be at on the twenty-ninth..."

"Uh, Velma? What part of 'Christmas break' do you _not _understand?" Shaggy inquired.

"Well... this is something special. See, it's only a half-hour meeting, but I honestly can't miss it. It's for new members of the HTRT."

Blank looks.

Quickly and excitedly, Velma told her friends every detail of what had happened that afternoon, and how much it meant to her. By the time she was finished, she was pleased to see that the others seemed every bit as happy for her as she was for herself.

"Like, it's good to see you in a good mood!" Shaggy responded after she was finished explaining.

Velma smiled at him as she picked up a gingerbread man and proceeded in decapitating it with her teeth. Gingerbread. It was one of those foods you went your whole life without really ever noticing, without ever liking or disliking it; then one morning you woke up and had to have it more than any other food in the world. Of course, something about Shaggy's having made them seemed to make them taste sweeter... fresher... even spicier...

Daphne's two cents interrupted Velma's daydream. "Yeah, Velma, it's good to see you feeling better than you were this morning. There's some flu bug going around; you should be careful. If you don't come down with anything, though, could you come skiing and just leave early enough to go to the meeting?"

"Maybe... there's a lot of paperwork and stuff I'm supposed to read over the break. I'll see how far through I am, though. How soon does your father need to know if I can make it?"

Daphne shrugged. "It really doesn't matter; when you own the place you don't need reservations. He just wanted to know who would be around, I guess."

"Like, do us all a favor, Velma... don't spend Christmas with your nose in yet another pile of books!" Shaggy told his girlfriend.

Velma playfully punched him. She had to confess, during high school and college her schoolwork sometimes did get in the way of Christmas and other celebrations. She breathed, then said in a mockingly grudgingly tone, "Okay... I promise I won't do any work on Christmas Day. There, is that good enough?"

"Yep," Shaggy gleefully answered.

"Seriously, though..." Freddie told his friend. "Shaggy does have a point. If you _are _catching something, you probably don't need any more stress..."

"But it needs to get done sometime!" Velma protested. She had never quite understood how everyone else could be so laid back; didn't they ever have their own work to do? Velma was not a procrastinator; everything had to be accomplished the moment it was assigned. Somehow, though, the rest of the world always survived putting things off until the last minute.

Her outburst seemed to have slightly alarmed the others. To reassure them that all was well, she poured herself a glass of ginger ale and drank it, smiling.

All really was well, she realized an hour later as the others left to go home. Her friends had a family... _were _a family. She had finally gotten together with Shaggy, after liking him for so long. She had just landed the kind of job that she never would have believed as a little girl. It was almost Christmas.

Shaggy lingered after Scooby, Fred and Daphne were gone. He stood awkwardly near the door, wishing to say something but at a loss for anything really romantic. Finally he told Velma, "Like... congrats on your new job..."

"Thank you, Shaggy."

"And... I guess it's a couple days early, but... Merry Christmas!"

Velma hugged him. "Merry Christmas to you, too."

"And while we're at early holidays... Happy New Year!"

Velma decided to tease him. "Happy _Valentine's Day_."

"Happy St. Patrick's Day."

"Happy Easter."

"Happy Fourth-of-July."

"Happy Labor Day."

"Happy Halloween."

"Happy Thanksgiving."

By now they were laughing too hard to quit, but things had come full circle. Finally, together, they both said "Merry Christmas," again, kissing at the conclusion of a year that had somehow passed in thirty seconds.

Shaggy broke free after nearly an hour. "Like, seriously... I should be going... I've got to get up early tomorrow to get a jump-start on the cooking for Christmas..." He spoke the words, but his feet stayed glued in one place. He didn't really want to leave, and Velma could tell. Good old Shaggy... always thinking of food, yet for once having higher priorities.

It was nice to be one of those priorities.

She spoke. "Do you want me to walk home with you?"

He grinned. "Do you want to _come _home with me?"

Velma's instant reaction was yes, but she pretended to really struggle with it. "Hmmm..." Then she gave up; she couldn't feign seriousness, not on this loveliest of nights which Shaggy had dubbed years ago "Christmas Eve _Eve_."

"All right!"

She grabbed a few basic necessities-- toothbrush, comb, glasses case-- and threw them into her maroon totebag, next to the books and papers she had been handed earlier at work. Then, squeezing on two sweaters, a jacket, and a winter coat, she marveled at how even in this cold Shaggy was comfortable with his standard green T-shirt. He was always making everyone else in the gang feel frozen just watching him. Cold never made him shiver; only the presence of ghosts.

It was obviously a very short walk between apartments, but even so the frigid wind blowing in their faces made it difficult to move forward. Yet Velma didn't want the walk to end. Nothing could be more comforting than moving toward a place she knew would be secure, more of a home than her own home, all the while basking in the warmth of Shaggy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Velma stirred slightly and rolled over in bed. She opened her eyes slightly.

The neon green numbers on the alarm clock flashed nine-thirty-four. Jinkies, how late had she slept? Well... she was being rather hard on herself. She was, after all, much more of a morning person than most people. Shaggy, when he didn't have work, routinely slept until one in the afternoon.

Actually, Shaggy was awake already, she realized after sitting up. He had said he would be getting up early; apparently he really had. And he had somehow done so without waking Velma.

She climbed out of bed. She thought her flu was coming back. She could smell Shaggy's cooking coming from the kitchen, but despite his exemplary culinary skills she felt somewhat sickened by it. Even so, she put on her bathrobe and made her way into the kitchen to join him.

"Mornin', Sleeping Beauty," Shaggy joked as she approached. Great. Now he was sure to use every morning-person line he had acquired from her own artillery against him.

She tried to put on her perkiest face, as though maybe she had awakened earlier than now and had simply lingered in the bedroom for a while. "Good morning, Shaggy. How long have you been up?"

"Since nine-ish."

Okay, so perhaps she couldn't pull that trick, not if Shaggy had been in the room as recently as half an hour ago. Then again, he couldn't rail on her too harshly for sleeping in either.

"And you've got all this set up?" Velma questioned, dazed. Shaggy had pulled out every dish in his apartment, it seemed. All four burners of the stove were occupied, as well as both oven racks, the microwave, and even the toaster. He was a good multi-tasker.

"Yep," Shaggy responded cheerfully. Hey, he was doing what he liked. "Here... I got your breakfast." He passed her a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and hash browns. It was a large enough helping that anyone other than Shaggy or Scooby would have gotten sick from eating the whole thing, but for Velma just smelling it made her nauseous.

Even so, she tried to eat what she could. This was partly out of politeness, but mainly so Shaggy wouldn't ask if anything was wrong. She didn't want to worry him...

"Shoot..." Shaggy muttered suddenly.

"Huh?" Velma asked, uncharacteristically unintelligently.

"Oh, just... I thought I had everything I needed for this recipe... it turned out I had a couple of things on the back I forgot about... now I need to go pick them up..."

"I'll do it," Velma volunteered.

Shaggy smiled gratefully. "Like, thanks, Velma. You're a lifesaver." He kissed Velma good-bye.

She stepped outside. The previous night's snowstorm had subsided; now a few whimsical snowflakes fluttered from the sky, slow yet lively, like children on their way home from school. Surely the roads would still be icy, but at least it was a few degrees warmer, and the overall effect was that there was nothing really menacing in the day ahead. The cheerful, childlike freedom of a bright white blanket of snow brought back the nostalgia of snowball fights ten years ago.

_Or igloos one month ago. _Velma smiled. The previous one had melted, but she and Shaggy could build another one. They _should_. The great outdoors on Christmas Eve did much to lift her spirits.

All this was, of course, before she actaually started driving.

She started off without feeling too much worse than when she woke up that morning. But then carsickness set in... and her breakfast started to churn within her...

She rolled down the window. Aaaahhh... That was much better. She felt her horrible urge to vomit lift, leaving her with only a slight nausea. She didn't care that it was only twelve degrees fahrenheit without the wind chill. She didn't care that snowflakes were blowing into her hair. She didn't care that the wind was stinging her face. This felt _good._

Suddenly, she was struck by a rather disturbing deja vu.

She could remember another open window, in another vehicle, in the midst of another cold month. She could remember why that window was open, too.

Nah...

That was impossible.

Was it?

A slight, dreading fear crept through her mind. She tried to shake it, but it wouldn't leave. Her scientific mind had to actually _eliminate _all impossibilities before settling on the truth. She had yet to disprove this theory which had just occurred to her. Her previous "conclusion" was truly just a "hypothesis." The experiment wasn't over.

Sighing, she made a mental shopping list of her own, one which held only one item.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

It was purely a matter of the process of elimination, Velma tried to reassure herself. That was all. _"Eliminate the impossible... and what is left can only be the truth."_ She just had to be sure...

Even so, the whole drive home seemed unendurably long, and that couldn't possibly be only because of the icy roads, or the Christmas Eve traffic, or the detour she had to take after the bridge was closed...

When she got back to the apartments, Shaggy and Scooby were waiting as faithfully as only one's boyfriend and one's dog (or one's boyfriend's dog) could be. They started carrying in the myriad groceries practically the yoctosecond Velma parked the car. Either they were highly eager to help their friend, or they were highly eager to get their hands on the food.

All Velma could think in response to either situation was that she was highly grateful she had slipped the bag from the drugstore into her maroon totebag, and placed some random papers and other junk that had sunk to the bottom of the tote on the top. There was no way they would find it.

"Like, is that everything, Scooby?" Shaggy asked, his arms full.

"Reah... rooks rike it..."

_No... it's not, _thought Velma, almost dishonestly.

"Groovy." He climbed up the stairs, with Scooby at his heels. Either from chivalry or their magnetic attraction to anything edible, they had left nothing for Velma to carry in. She would have run ahead and gotten the door, but somehow Shaggy kicked it open before she got there. Ah well...

She followed them inside and checked for any belongings she may have left in the bathroom or bedroom. She then walked back into the kitchen, where Shaggy had gotten back to work.

"Well, Shaggy, I should probably be getting home now..." she told him, feeling guilty. He liked company while he was working in the kitchen. Hey, at least he had Scooby...

"Oh, well... goodbye, then," he told her. He would have given her a hug if his hands weren't covered in raw chicken juice. Instead, he held his hands behind his back, leaned forward, and kissed her forehead.

"Bye, Shaggy." She kissed him back.

She left the apartment. She was as painfully aware as Shaggy was blissfully ignorant that this could be the last time _both_ were... painfully ignorant... of what was to come.

-----------------------------------------

She was in the security of her own apartment. It was okay. This was going to be simple. Think of it as just another routine lab assignment... all it was, really, was the simplest of tests...

She breathed and reached into the maroon totebag. She dug to the bottom for the bag from the drugstore.

First she pulled out all the basic, OTC flu remedies-- she had optimistically decided those were what she would really be needing, and it would be foolish to not get any if she was stopping by the drugstore anyhow. She placed them in the medicine cabinet, organizing them as neatly as possible, desiring to stall despite her rush to get here in the first place. Unfortunately, one could only spend so long alphabetizing Theraflu.

_The test, _she told herself. Right...

She pulled open the packaging.

-----------------------------------------

It was the first Velma could ever remember wanting to fail a test.

It was time to check it; she could know, she could know _now._

But she didn't want to.

No, she should just get it over with...

Fine. She would check it already. Really, the whole thing was unlikely anyway. She was only humoring her fearful side, the way one checks the closet for monsters one doesn't believe in, just to _prove _they don't exist.

She read it.

Really, how could a two-syllable word take so long to decipher? Especially seeing as she was _Velma, _for crying out loud. Velma, who had read every single book in the Coolsville Public Library. Velma, who had finished _Beowulf _in a record four hours flat back when she was a high school freshman. Velma, who could comb an entire book for clues while the others were chained to the first sentence.

Velma, the speed reader.

Yet here it was-- a single word that felt like it took decades to read. The instant her mind finally processed it, though, she wished she hadn't read it at all. This was the very last thought to register with her before her blood froze solid in her vains.

_Pregnant._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Velma splashed some more cold water on her face. It was a childish optimism, but maybe, just maybe, all of this would turn out to be nothing more than a dream, and it was still morning, and she would be back in Shaggy's apartment...

No, it wasn't a dream. Velma had been known to consciously wake herself up from unpleasant dreams before, and this ability surely would have kicked in by now if that were the case.

She wiped the cold water off of her eyes and cheeks and put her glasses back on. She stared into her mirror, as though a break in concentration would cause it to shatter. Why not? Everything else seemed to be shattering in her world around her...

Somehow, it was odd to see her own reflection staring back at her: brunette hair, glasses, freckles, four-foot-eleven, 110 pounds, nineteen years old. Everything was the same. How could that be possible? How could this be _Velma_?

What was Velma's one reputation, the reputation that she had carried with her virtually her whole life?

Brains.

It was strange to think that, at age nineteen, if she hadn't been labeled "smart" or "gifted" or "academically astute," if she were perhaps one of the kids who got held back a year or two, she could still be in high school. And in high school, there were certain rules, one of which she had severely broken.

The smart girls didn't get pregnant.

Other girls could. The slackers at the back of the room got pregnant at the drop of a hat. The drama queens did so on _purpose _for reasons the rest of the school was never entirely clear on. Even the cheerleaders did occasionally, and then it was the major gossip of the school for the next month or so.

_The smart girls didn't get pregnant._

They were the ones who took perfect notes in health class. They were the ones who kept the Planned Parenthood number in their address books. They were the ones who took precautions.

They were not the ones who got pregnant in their teens.

Velma tried to snap out of it. This wasn't high school anymore. She was on her own, an adult, a college graduate. Smart girls didn't go their whole lives without having children; their genes would die out. They just didn't have them in high school.

_Or in their teens._

Velma shook herself. Why did the cliques and stereotypes kids always succumbed to affect her now? Being pregnant didn't mean she hadn't been valedictorian... or gone to Yale... or been given a job with the HTRT...

What would they say at work, anyway? Mr. Harolds had admired her achievements and ambition at first... now would he write her off as just another reckless, irresponsible kid? She shuddered at the realization that her hopes of being the hardworking, competent, professional researcher could not be fulfilled, not when she had been so careless, so rash...

Who was she?

She felt a sudden detachment, a disassociation with everything she had ever been told she was. Whatever brains, intelligence, cleverness-- in short, everything everybody had always told her she had-- seemed to go up in smoke, evaporating out of sight. All had been erased by a single, egregious mistake.

She slumped down on the floor, crying, feeling for the first time in her life that she had done something very, very stupid.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Okay, I guess I could have asked this earlier... but I wasn't thinking.

Do any of you out there know how I should categorize this story?

Right now it stands as plain old "general." I thought about labeling it romance/sci fi, the same as the first story. But I don't think the sci fi portion plays as much of a role in this one as in the first one, and even in OBASF I don't think the science fiction really made for any very interesting segments. As for the romance, there's still plenty, sure, but I think this story tends to focus more on the realities associated with the romance than in actually bringing people together. Everybody's already together who should be, so I don't know if this is really "romantic" either.

But what is it? It's not comedy; it's not tragedy; it's not parody; it's not Western. If any of you have any suggestions, please let me know. I'd like to give it a more descriptive label.

BTW, I would have posted this last night... but I have an internet curfew and thanks to the fact that we weren't able to login for a while I couldn't make it. :( :( :(

Also, I incorporated one of my own habits into Velma's character, because it felt like a trait she would have... but does anyone else in the world ever find that he/she leaves novels in his/her backpack, totebag, purse, briefcase, etc., days and weeks and months after he/she is finished? At the end of the school year I often find at least half a dozen scattered around in my book bag. I figure Velma, of course, would carry that to the extreme.

**Chapter 6:**

"Shaggy." Velma struggled to find the exact right tone for the word. She wanted to sound firm and secure, not like the weepy girlfriend, not like the I'm-clinging-to-you-because-now-I-have-no-choice girlfriend.

Whatever. He didn't even know what she was going to tell him yet.

It was late Christmas night, or else the very earliest hours of the twenty-sixth, depending on how you counted the date after midnight.

Anyone but Velma, the queen of technicalities, would have called it Christmas. But thinking of that would only make this moment worse. She already felt like she was betraying him, somehow. Why did she have to reveal it on a holiday? Why did she have to ruin the break for him? But telling him this so _late_ felt like a betrayal as well. She shouldn't have waited two days. She should have come by his apartment with the news right away the moment she knew.

Yet in a strange way, she was glad she waited. She remembered every detail of a cheerful, sweetly unaware Shaggy, celebrating a Christmas just like any other... no, better than any other. Velma herself had managed to forget half the time. She had managed to shift her entire attention to enjoying the moment. She could kiss Shaggy under the mistletoe, could cuddle with him next to the fireplace, could treasure these last hours... these last minutes... where all that mattered were two people who were blissfully in love; nothing else.

Except now she had begun the warning. Now she had to say it.

Shaggy could tell from her expression that the matter was urgent. He may have had a slacker's reputation, but he was smarter than he acted.

Smarter than Velma felt, anyway.

Willing herself to not start that up again, to stay focused, she was about to present the information outright when a sudden, random inspiration came to mind. She stood up.

"Shaggy... there is one more thing I should have given you today. I left it up in the bedroom... I'll go get it..."

Shaggy watched her leave the room with the fireplace. He was very puzzled. She had acted like the matter was so serious, so life-altering, that there was no way it could merely be a forgotten gift.

Velma tiptoed into the guest room where Daphne and Freddie had told their friend she could spend the night, rather than drive home on an icy night when some of the neighbors were probably drunk. She reached into her red tote bag and took out a paperback book, one of many she stashed there and never took out. She tried to tiptoe quickly back to the fireplace room.

She placed the book in her boyfriend's hands.

Shaggy only stared at it, puzzled. He was scarcely an avid reader; Velma was well aware of that. She probably meant something else by this gift than merely to bestow him with reading material...

"You have five years and eight months to read it," she told him, calculating how much time had probably elapsed.

He stared at the title: _Fahrenheit 451. _Suddenly, snatches of an old conversation flooded his ears once more...

_"Yeah," Velma answered. "She lectured me for reading... Fahrenheit 451, I think. She sent a note home to my parents. They were just amazed that I even _could_ read that book..."_

_"Like, I think I'd freak out if our five-year-old brought home a book like that."_

_"_Our _five-year-old?"_

_"Okay, so I've like imagined it... a couple of times... I mean it's not impossible..."_

It _wasn't _impossible, Shaggy realized, amazed. In fact... it wasn't just _possible_... it was what Velma was trying to say. She was probably as scared to state it openly as he was to confirm what he was pretty sure she meant.

He decided to ask indirectly.

"So... you think I should like preview my kid's books? I mean... what was so bad to make the substitute confiscate it?"

Velma's nervous expression relaxed slightly. Good old Shaggy... making jokes, even when she could tell he was every bit as afraid as she was. Only unlike the routine monsters they faced together, this was something he couldn't run away and hide from.

Nor, she realized a moment later, _would _he.

"Well... maybe you'll have longer than that..." Velma said, a joking leniency coming back to her voice.

"Depends... if this baby is anything like you, I'm dead. I'll be like surrounded by _smart _people!"

There. Shaggy, not Velma, was the first person in this conversation who had uttered the word _baby. _Velma felt some strange relief spread over her, like a cool, calming lotion.

Yet there was another relief in his voice, a relief that came from something he probably meant so much he didn't mean to _say _it.

He had called her smart.

True, he was one person. But he was the one person whose thoughts mattered more to Velma than anyone else's in the world. He still thought she was smart. His opinion of her didn't change just because of what happened to her. He would always be the same, loyal Shaggy, and he would always know the same, real Velma. He would always believe she was who she had always been.

He would always love her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Daphne opened her eyes, reluctantly, trying to focus on the clock next to her bed. 1:16 a.m.

And of course, Janice was hungry.

She gazed jealously at Fred, who slept soundly despite their baby's crying. He could sleep through a tsunami, a firestorm, a sinking ship, and an avalanche all happening simultaneously. Daphne was too tired to even think clearly enough to realize that those were the kinds of events that couldn't all happen _exactly _at once, but she was sure she had dreamed about some of it and she hadn't really woken up yet.

She hurried into Janice's room. Surely Velma and Shaggy were asleep by now; hopefully they, like Freddie, were heavy sleepers and would not be disturbed.

She fed Janice, singing to her, stroking her hair. At the hospital everyone told her newborn hair almost always fell out; this had yet to happen. It still hadn't decided whether it wanted to look like Fred's or Daphne's. The array of reds and blondes stood out in a bold mixture that was visible even in the dim moonlight streaming through the window.

Finally Janice was full. Daphne reached into the crib where she was sure her baby's pacifier had been lying only moments before.

It was gone.

Frustrated, Daphne set her daughter into the crib and tucked her purple, stuffed octopus under her arm. Maybe she would go to sleep anyway; why did children never seem to need their sleep as badly as adults?

Janice's face turned into a pout. She knew something was amiss, and she _would not go to sleep _until the problem was corrected.

Sighing, Daphne searched around on the floor surrounding the crib. Perhaps Janice had kicked it out. It had to be around _somewhere._

It really wasn't there.

Daphne remembered a spare that had been left in the living room downstairs. She would simply retrieve that one instead; it was a terrible hour to bother looking for the one that had been lost.

She crept softly down the stairs.

As she made her way into the living room, she noted that there was still a faint, orange glow coming from the edges of the door to the room with the fireplace. Had Shaggy and Velma forgotten to put it out before going to bed? The fire risk made Daphne slightly nervous; she would extinguish it herself after delivering Janice's pacifier. First things first, though. If Janice didn't get her pacifier back _soon _she would certainly start howling again.

Daphne walked over to the end table where she was surprised to see that, under the scraps of wrapping paper that still hadn't been thrown away, there was not one but two pacifiers, one of which she was sure she had seen Janice with just before feeding her.

_That's odd, _Daphne thought to herself. She was, however, in absolutely no mood to ponder how that could possibly have happened. She simply picked up the one Janice had somehow misplaced an entire story below her and carried it up the stairs.

Janice was waiting in her room, expecting the very thing Daphne held in her hand. She watched her mother impatiently.

She fell asleep almost instantly the moment it slid past her lips, much to Daphne's relief. Her daughter was asleep; she could go back to sleep.

Although that was exactly what ninety-nine percent of her wanted to do, she found that other one percent very persuasive. She had to watch her baby for just a couple minutes... so serene, so peaceful, so finally _asleep._ She slept as though she hadn't been crying so recently, as though now that her pacifier was back in her mouth nothing else in the world could possibly be wrong right now, as though everyone were safe and secure and well just as she was.

Kids were good at that.

Just then Daphne remembered the fire. Blowing her daughter a kiss and closing the door behind her, she slipped downstairs once more to put out the flames... and maybe finally go back to bed.

---------------------------------------------

It was nobody's fault. Really.

Despite her exceptional hearing, which came and went now and then, Daphne had noticed immediately after moving into the house that the walls were very thick between the room with the fireplace and the hallway. The room was practically soundproof; one had to be inside to hear anything that was going on in there.

Thus, it had not occurred to Daphne that Shaggy and Velma had not forgotten to put out the fire before bed, had _voluntarily _stayed up until this rotten hour, and were immersed in a very long and very serious conversation.

Likewise, Velma had not thought it likely that Daphne would be coming into the room any time soon, and seeing as her back was to the door, she didn't immediately see her friend come in. She was in mid-sentence as Daphne entered, and didn't instantly register the presence of a reason not to finish it:

"--when they find out we're going to be parents."

Just then, seeing the reaction on Shaggy's face that didn't quite correspond to the sentence, Velma turned around.

Daphne stood there, blushing.

_Awkward._

Maybe she could get away with playing dumb. Maybe she had even heard Velma wrong, or misunderstood the context, and would be better off assuming that she had.

"S-sorry, guys... I didn't know you were still up. Listen, would you mind putting out the fire before you go up to bed? Thanks, I--"

Velma stood up. She knew her friend was pretending not to have heard, and while she found herself feeling somewhat appreciative of Daphne's wish to not have intruded, she decided that just telling her up front was probably the easiest thing to do, not to mention the fact that Daphne had done that very thing... was it really less than ten months ago?

"Daphne... it's okay. You heard me correctly. Shaggy and I are going to have a baby."

Daphne stared back, not entirely sure what to say, what tone to use, what expression to don. Hadn't this scene played out months ago, just with a reversal of roles? Only Daphne hadn't paid as much attention as far as what to do back then; she had played the whole thing by ear. It was easier, strangely, to need a friend than to be one.

Now Daphne had to _be_ the friend.

She couldn't possibly be as good at it as Velma.

What had Velma done those months ago?

She had hugged Daphne... that wasn't a bad place to start. Daphne hugged Velma. Then everything else felt a bit easier.

"So... I guess that's seven, now, is it?" she asked, referring to Daphne's earlier description of the unborn Janice as "the sixth member of Mystery Inc." She knew it was a strange thing to say at a moment like this, but then again, what else could somebody say? The whole question as to whether you congratulated someone on an unplanned pregnancy like this had never really been resolved, just forgotten.

Velma smiled.

"Lucky seven, I guess..."

Daphne smiled back. Shaggy still had not said a word; this conversation was somehow between the two girls only. He sat gazing into the fire, actually grateful to have given communication a rest, to be able to contemplate the fact that he, Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, would become a father... would he be any good at it? He thought for quite a while, his mind spinning wildly, trying to picture the family he and Velma and their child would become, discovering it was harder to imagine once he knew it was going to happen. Then, as he often did when sleep finally pestered him and he became tired, his thoughts drifted to less important matters, and he started speaking his thoughts out loud.

"So, that's like three of us who know... there's still Fred and Scooby..."

The girls turned to him. Finally Daphne asked Velma, "Do you want to wake them up and tell them now, or just wait until morning?"

_If only I didn't have to tell them at all_, she thought to herself. Hey. That wasn't a bad idea.

"Actually, Daphne... why don't you tell Freddie? And if Shaggy could tell Scooby..."

Both her friends looked at her. She defended her idea.

"Well, why not? Fred's your husband, Daphne, and Scooby is Shaggy's dog..."

Unsure, but desiring to respect their friend's wishes, Shaggy and Daphne agreed. That matter was out of the way.

Then the three of them yawned simultaneously. Good grief, it was nearly half past two. Daphne excused herself first, wished her friends goodnight, and finally made her way toward her elusive bed.

Shaggy headed out the door next, with Velma right behind him. Then she stopped in her tracks.

"Shaggy... the fire..."

"Oh... right..." Laughing silently, Shaggy put out what few embers were left after burning all night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

8:00 a.m., December 26. Freddie climbed out of bed. Daphne was already up, putting on her makeup in the bathroom. That was unusual; since when was Daphne an early-riser?

Fred slipped into the bathroom next to his wife and reached for his toothbrush. "You're up early," he told Daphne. "Especially since you got up in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, well... sometimes you miss out on a lot by staying in bed, Rip van Winkle."

"Yes, how could I _possibly _have slept through something so exciting as watching you feed Janice?"

Daphne picked up her own toothbrush and wet it. Then she ran her thumb down the bristles, spritzing her husband in the face. He winced at the cold splash, then straightened it again.

"See, that's the kind of assumption you make when you spend eleven hours straight plastered to the bed."

"Sho wha' _were _you 'oing, shen?" Fred asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Saving the world. Didn't you know I'm a superhero?"

This was too much for Fred. He just barely made it to the sink in time to laugh hard enough to release the waterfall of white suds from his mouth.

"Gross," Daphne muttered, laughing with him.

Fred rinsed his mouth and asked, "So when do I get to see you in one of those tight spandex outfits?"

"When there's evil to rid the world of!" She struck a heroic pose.

"Evil? Will you settle for just a bit of... naughty?"

"Maybe... if you're good enough..."

This made them both laugh harder, until suddenly Freddie asked, "Are Shaggy and Velma up yet? I hope we don't wake them up..."

Daphne paused. "Probably they're still asleep. They were up late last night. I went downstairs to make sure the fire was out after I fed Janice and they were still awake."

"Still? Yikes, what time was that?"

Daphne ignored his question. "I was talking to them..."

"Were _they _the ones who needed saving?" Freddie asked jokingly, getting off on another rabbit trail.

_Sort of, _Daphne thought to herself. She remembered how Velma had come to her 'rescue' back when things were the other way around. She wondered if she had been nearly so helpful as Velma had been.

She decided to finish. "Actually... they were just telling me that Velma is going to have a baby."

Freddie turned around and faced Daphne. "Okay... I really _am_ paying attention, you know. Now what were you _really _going to say?"

"No, actually that is what I was going to say. I'm serious. She's pregnant."

Freddie leaned against the counter. "Okay... is there a curse on Mystery Inc. or something?"

Daphne smiled. "Depends... would you call Janice a 'curse'?"

"No! Of course not." Freddie looked apologetic for his outburst.

"And would you call the fact that we got married because of her a curse?"

"Hey... I would have married you anyway..."

"So 'no' then?"

"Sure thing it's a no!"

"Then it's obviously _not _a curse." She kissed Freddie sweetly. He kissed her back.

"So what is it then?"

Daphne paused, slightly unsure how to answer him.

"It's a blessing, Fred," she told him finally. "We've been blessed."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Brunch. The hybrid meal.

The gang was scattered around the table in the Joneses' kitchen, eating some cold cereal, some leftover Christmas dinner. Shaggy was busy applying maple syrup, catsup, and cranberry sauce to a turkey-and-egg sandwich, while Scooby was mixing up a plateful of stuffing, mayonaise, and oatmeal. Somehow they took the concept of a meal that was half-breakfast, half-lunch to the extreme, to everyone else's disgust.

"Hey... the mail's here..." Freddie muttered lazily as he sipped his coffee and glanced out the window. Daphne, the only one not still in her pajamas, stepped outside to get it.

She re-entered the room with an armload of two days' worth of mail, today's and what would have come if the day before had not been Christmas. Among the pile she carried was a package.

Freddie looked at the parcel, then smiled. "That was supposed to be your Christmas present, Daphne. I ordered it far enough ahead of time that I was _sure _they would have delivered it long before Christmas..."

Daphne ripped the paper off and pulled out a very thick purple coat, one that would be perfect for skiing.

"Aw, thanks Freddie, that's so sweet!"

"I'm just glad it got here today, before our ski trip tomorrow..."

Velma almost slapped herself, then stopped when she realized she had a knife in her hand. Good save.

"Shoot... I forgot all about that! Looks like I can't make it, though..." Velma told her friends. She stared into her tote, looking at all the books she had yet to read... forms she still had to fill out... papers she would have to sign...

"Aw... we're really sorry..." Fred told her.

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked.

"Positive. Besides, all I usually do when we go skiing is go down the bunny hill once, then spend the rest of the day at the lodge drinking hot chocolate." It was somewhat true, and she was trying to be humorous about having to decline, but she still felt a little disappointed. "Say hi to your dad for me, okay?"

Shaggy spoke next. "Like, I really hope you two don't mind... but if Velma's not going I think I should stay behind with her..."

"It's okay, Shaggy. I'll be fine." Inwardly, Velma felt a mixture of appreciation and resentment: Sure, his offer was kind, but would he have made it if she hadn't just told him she was pregnant? Was this some sexist idea of chivalry?

"Oh, come on, it's not like I do much more than you do when we ski. Besides, I'll miss you too much."

He was being very sweet, but Velma still yearned to ask if that really was his motivation. Rather than hurt his feelings, though, she agreed.

"All right, Shaggy. But I probably won't be much fun to be around, anyway. I've got--"

"--work to do." Not only Shaggy, but Daphne, Freddie, and Scooby finished Velma's sentence. Apparently it had become cliche to them.

"Er... right," Velma responded lamely.

"Well... that is kind of your catchphrase..." Shaggy told her gently, as Daphne, Freddie, and Scooby started clearing the table. He said it in a low voice, expressing some more concern than he usually showed.

"But it's true. Listen, Shaggy... I've waited years for a job like this. It's my dream... and I'm willing to work for it."

"That's great... but I just don't want you like stressing out, that's all..."

Velma only looked back at her boyfriend. Shaggy lived an almost stress-free existence. He went to work, sure, and paid his bills and everything, but he always seemed perfectly content with the way things were. He wasn't at all ambitious; he didn't care if he worked the same cradle-to-grave job his entire life. Sheesh, he didn't even care if he wore the same _shirt _his entire life. Sometimes Velma secretly envied this attitude; more often, though, she pitied it.

"I'm fine, Shaggy. Really."

"Just that the stress can't be good for--"

"Shaggy, it's not like that at all. Nothing's going to happen to the baby if I stay up an hour or two late once in a while finishing a project. I've got three days to work on all this; spread out it's really not that much."

"Okay..."

His uncertainty made her uncomfortable. She changed the subject.

"Here, Daphne... let me help you with the dishes..."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

"So, like, how _was _the skiing, anyway?"

"Nonexistent," Daphne answered Shaggy's question as they all sat around playing Scrabble in the Joneses' living room on New Year's Eve. "There was a huge snowstorm just the day before we got there that blocked half the trails and knocked out most of the safety equipment. We only stuck around because we wanted to hang out with Daddy."

"Oh," Velma answered, feeling just a little less guilty that Shaggy had stayed home with her. He had been wonderful to the point where Velma felt she didn't deserve it. She had to admit that he was very good as a de-stresser; some people just had a natural talent for working goof-off time into their schedules. Still, just by declining to go skiing he had sacrificed some of his free time... a part of himself, really...

"How were things back at the ranch?" Fred asked.

Neither Shaggy nor Velma answered that question. Things really had been quite boring. Mostly, Velma worked. Occasionally Shaggy would pry her away for an hour or two or three. Then they would see a movie, or go out to eat, or take a walk in the park, or just hang out and talk.

_Once, _Velma thought to herself, _we almost built another igloo. We really did. It was Shaggy's idea this time..._ She wasn't entirely sure why they hadn't, either. They had gotten so far as to cut out big cubes of ice with their shovels when Velma had looked at her watch and realized she had two hours left before the meeting with the HTRT... and she wasn't showered, or dressed neatly, or anything like that. Shaggy had understood when she asked if they could finish the igloo later... only they never did. Following the meeting, Velma came back with another heavy stack of paperwork. This she was occupied with even as the gang was playing board games this New Year's Eve.

"Hey, Velma..." Freddie interrupted her thoughts. "It's your turn."

"Oh... right..."

She stared at the board and at her own tiles. Finally she placed some down, feeling lizard-eyed as she kept one eye on her paper and one eye on the game board.

"_Priorities_," she said, reading her word aloud. "How many points is that?"

--------------------------------------------

The TV was on, and the ball was almost going to drop. Just five more minutes...

"Does anyone here have any New Year's resolutions?" Freddie wondered aloud. "I'm going to _try_ to stop leaving the milk out while I eat my cereal in the mornings. There, are you happy, Daphne?"

She giggled. "Thank you, Freddie. I'll try to resist half my urges to drag you into department-store sales... although Macy's does have buy-one, get-one on these really cute polos that would look great on..." Fred groaned playfully. "Sorry," she told him. "What about you, Shaggy? Any New Year's resolutions?"

"Nope," he responded unregretfully.

"What about you, Velma?"

She shrugged. "Probably just to be less of a procrastinator, I guess..." That was a lie. Everyone knew she wasn't much of a procrastinator in the first place. Her real resolution was hard to come up with; what really had to change, what had to be achieved?

Actually, she knew deep down the resolution she longed to make. It was a childish one, so she wouldn't say it aloud, not even to Shaggy. She didn't really even want to admit to herself that she wanted to make it, but seeing as she did she recited the resolution in her head:

_Before the year is out, _she told herself, _Shaggy and I _will _make another igloo._

------------------------------------------

Ten... nine... eight...

The seconds were ticking. A new year was about to dawn on them...

Seven... six...

Daphne and Freddie scooted closer together; Shaggy and Velma did the same.

Five... four...

When they were little kids, if this were some game of hide-and-seek or something, whoever was counting here likely would have gotten impatient and yelled "Threetwoone!" as fast as he or she could. But time unfortunately went by at its own pace; sometimes that was way too fast, but here it was painfully slow. Nobody could control it just by counting faster.

Three...

Two...

One...

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

Daphne and Freddie hugged first, then kissed. Shaggy and Velma kissed first, then hugged. Scooby, left being the odd one out, settled to give an oh-isn't-that-cute doggy kiss to Janice, who until the midnight commotion had been sleeping peacefully for nearly four hours. She would have cried, but Scooby's licking of her face amused her too much. She even seemed to smile a bit. Then she went peacefully back to sleep.

Soon Daphne and Freddie rose to pick up the debris from the party-- plastic cups, Scrabble tiles, loose M&Ms that had fallen out of the bag, confetti-- and Velma and Shaggy rose to help them.

"Shoot, there's cheese dust on this packet..." Velma said, holding it up over the trash can and dusting it, hoping to remove some of the crumbs.

"Sorry," Shaggy said, grinning sheepishly.

"Oh... well, this one wasn't _that _important..."

Good old Shaggy. Careless, clumsy, and cute. Velma was strangely glad he hadn't made any New Year's resolutions. She didn't want him to change.

"Sorry anyway," he told her.

They kissed once more as they crammed one last paper plate into a large black garbage bag. It was one one of those moments almost nobody would have said would have been a romantic time or place, but Velma felt an enthralled sensation slide gently yet rapidly through her veins. She was with Shaggy...

If only this were how she really felt all the time...


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

There was always a let-down on January second. Whether one was going back to school or work, there was always that desire to revert to the traditional practice of celebrating Christmas for twelve days straight... then the holiday would still be in motion...

At least for Velma, there was something new and exciting to look forward to. This was her first day on the job. She would get a feel for what it was really like. Maybe she would even encounter people like her.

She tried not to think about that, actually. She felt mean when she did. Sometimes she longed to find people who were really her peers-- in the simplest terms, other smart people. Obviously her own friends were wonderful, but she always felt just a little like a freak around them. She felt like she _had _to always know more about the situation at hand than anyone else. If she didn't have _all _the answers, then ironically she felt like the dumbest one there, because she had failed them. It wasn't fair that just because of her intelligence, she had to shoulder the responsibility of always being able to provide obscure information. Maybe that feeling would go away if she were somewhere where she wasn't the smartest...

She stepped into the small lab she and Judd MkKay were sharing. Neatly printed on a sheet of yellow paper were their research assignments for the day. Before she could even start to read the list, though, MkKay stepped into the room.

"Hey, Mr. Harolds said he wanted to see you in his office."

"What does he want us for?" Velma asked, figuring it was probably some last-minute "what-this-workplace-expects-of-you"-type speech.

"Not 'us.' You. Although," he said, grinning in that way Velma hated, "that 'us' idea sounds--"

Velma made it a point to leave the room before he finished. This guy had no life, and she had places to be in her own.

--------------------------------------------------

"Hello, Miss Dinkley," Mr. Harolds greeted her. It was a formal greeting, not at all warm, and just a little bit intimidating. "A word with you about the forms you turned in on the twenty-ninth..."

Unlike the day before the break, when he had been beaming at having such a bright, motivated new worker on the team, now he was not even smiling.

"Is something missing... sir?" Velma asked, trying to sound respectful without sounding submissive.

"No... we have received everything, thank you. But," he said, sorting through the pile, "your medical records state that you are pregnant."

"Yes, sir." Velma tried not to look embarrassed.

He looked back at her. "I just wanted to warn you that this is a high-risk job, Miss Dinkley. Accidents have been known to occur. I wanted to give you the chance to rethink this position, if you felt it was too dangerous. Most scientists are willing to risk their own lives for this kind of work... but they do not always wish to endanger their children in that manner."

"With all due respect, sir," Velma informed him, "my previous position held plenty of its own dangers. I would feel no safer in reverting to that career."

"Things have admittedly been less secure than usual since you were first employed at the CCC. I suppose the chances you took then were no more dangerous than the ones you will take now... but the truth is that that isn't the only matter at hand, here. The one I really wished to discuss with you is your commitment to this team."

He leaned back in his chair. "In the past, many women who joined the HTRT team resigned shortly after having children. To have an employee leave so soon after being hired is a terrible burden to place on the rest of us. If such plans are in the works for you, I would suggest resignation immediately, rather than quitting only after becoming adjusted in this new career. Think of your partner, and how he would have to work alongside a less-experienced coworker. I believe I have made clear that we wish to avoid that."

Velma tried to look dignified. "Mr. Harolds, I have no intention of leaving this job."

For the first time, he smiled. "Good. You may return to your work."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"Thank you so much, Daddy! You don't know how much this means to us..."

Mr. Blake smiled at his daughter. "Actually, I do. If you knew how often your mother and I would have gone out had you not been in tow, you would probably be informing a therapist of it right about now."

"_Would_ be, if I didn't realize how much Freddie and I needed tonight alone ourselves. So how was Janice?"

"An angel. Thanks for letting me watch her."

Daphne picked up her daughter, kissing the soft, baby skin on Janice's cheek.

"Say good-bye to Grandpa," she whispered, loudly enough for her father to hear. Of course Janice had no idea what her mother had just said; it was the sentiment that counted.

"Thanks again," Daphne told Mr. Blake.

"Yeah, thanks," Fred echoed.

The family kissed each other good-bye. Freddie and Daphne stepped out into the cold, early-February air, holding the infant warmly.

-----------------------------------------

"Oh, come on, Janice!"

Somehow, Janice had a knack for knowing when something she did not like was imminent. Take now, for instance: bathtime. The child howled stubbornly, somehow perfectly aware of what was to come.

Finally, Janice relented, and Daphne carried her upstairs to the tub.

"It's okay, Janice..." she said soothingly. "This shampoo is going to be gentler than that stuff Fred used on you last time." Janice had never minded baths much until Freddie tried to bathe her. He had forgotten to use the "no-tears" formula that Daphne always did, and of course _that _was the bath when Janice got a little bit of shampoo in her eyes. The poor baby had cried for hours.

"See?" Daphne told her, setting her down gently on the mat next to the tub. She reached next to her for the bottle.

Whoops... somehow she had left it up on the bathroom counter. She stood and turned to get it.

"Here, see? This shampoo is different--"

She stopped, very momentarily alarmed.

Janice wasn't on the mat.

Fortunately, Daphne's eyes then shifted out into the hall, where Janice lay on the soft carpet, an almost-smug expression on her face.

_That was weird, _Daphne thought. _How did she get out there? Did she roll, maybe? _But no... Janice was only just over two months old. Babies didn't roll over until they were four, maybe five months...

_Whatever, _thought Daphne frustratedly. Janice was a determined child; she probably found some way into the hall, be it by rolling or by magic carpet.

Even so... no more shenanigans.

**A/N: **Yes, actually, I am going somewhere with this chapter, beyond the obvious let's-take-a-glimpse-at-Daphne-and-Freddie-yes-they-are-still-here. Never mind; it'll make more sense later.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

_Why, _Shaggy wondered as left to pick up Velma, _did we put Valentine's Day in February, of all months?_

February fourteenth was still a week away, but from the piles of brown slush piled up at the side of the road this was not shaping up to be a very romantic month at all. Something cold and depressing hovered in the air, a chill that froze even Shaggy right through to the center of his heart. It wasn't the temperature-- tonight was perhaps 31 degrees Fahrenheit, although that was without the wind chill. Still, it was tolerable for most people, and such temperatures had never before been known to bother Shaggy.

He trudged up the steps to Velma's apartment and knocked on her door. She took kind of a while answering it-- that had become her trademark as of late. The Punctuality Queen was slowly melting away, the last shreds of her becoming apparent only when it was time to go to work.

Finally, after a couple minutes, she answered the door.

"Hi, Shaggy..." she greeted him, giving him a weak smile. The energy most people seem to acquire on Friday night apparently had not reached her. She looked _tired._

Shaggy thought for a moment, then said, "Velma? Do you _really _feel like going to a movie tonight? Because we could just hang out here, if that's all you really feel up to..."

Velma was about to protest-- Shaggy had been looking forward to tonight for a while-- but a poor attempt at stifling a yawn gave her away. "Yeah... that sounds like a good idea..." she told him honestly.

They went into the living room and sat down. Shaggy was rather shocked at the realization that he had not been inside for nearly three weeks. At least the room didn't seem to have changed much. It was about as messy as it had been before. Yet it was still different. Before, the mess had been a rather comical attempt at making Shaggy feel more at home. Now, the mess had an I've-been-fighting-it-but-I-just-don't-have-the-energy-anymore look to it.

Velma leaned against Shaggy as he stroked her brunette hair. They hadn't really spent as much time together lately as they used to. Why was that, exactly? Had work really done all this to Velma?

Shaggy thought back to just a couple months ago. He remembered a lively, cheerful Velma. He remembered the blissful hours they spent together after work. Now "after work" could really stretch until "after 1 a.m.," at which point she was completely fried. How anyone-- let alone a pregnant woman-- could manage that kind of stress was beyond him. He wanted to mention this thought to her, but he didn't dare. Somehow they didn't talk about the baby much.

Why?

Could it have been, somehow, that work really wasn't the cause of Velma's distance? Could it be that what would have drawn most people together was pushing them apart?

He thought about his friends, Fred and Daphne. They were married now. Freddie had proposed a few months after he found out he was going to be a father. Granted, that stretch of time hadn't passed yet-- and who said it was a race anyway?-- but it felt painfully longer. Maybe it was the winter blahs; maybe it was not seeing Velma nearly so often. Either way, the past several weeks had been unendurable.

He thought back to that night last October, and how very close they had come to seriously discussing marriage even back then. Over the two months that followed, the thought dangled over their lips during virtually every conversation. But as conversation ceased, so did the chances of talking about something this important.

But they would have to talk about it _eventually. _If they had come so close before, why couldn't they actually get there now?

Something seemed to be dying. _No,_ it certainly wasn't their love... it was Velma. How could she be carrying a new life inside of her when she herself became more withered every day? Something was draining her, was eating away at her. Always the temptation was to blame it all on work... but Shaggy wouldn't dare. Velma liked her job... it made her happy. He couldn't ask her to just leave it, not when it was what she truly wanted. At least, that was what she said.

And why shouldn't Shaggy believe her? But if she was really happy, why was she no longer the bubbly, outgoing Velma he had known for over a decade?

He had to ask. It wasn't as if they had said much else to each other the entire evening. He shook her slightly; she wasn't quite asleep, but she seemed to hover somewhere between levels of consciousness.

"Velma?" he asked her bravely, when he had all the attention she could muster.

"Hmmm?"

"Velma... like is something wrong?" He didn't know how else to put it.

Velma, worn out though she was, still managed to process some of what he had said. He had said it so simply, so innocently, that one never would have thought the answer could be so complicated.

Yes, a lot of things were wrong... but how did you tell someone that at a moment like this? How, when you were barely articulate, did you pour out your heart, did you explain all about how you simultaneously hated your job and loved it too much to quit, or how you had been stuck with a lab partner you found yourself loathing more and more every day, or how you were an expectant mother who wanted to be more excited about having a kid but frankly couldn't concentrate on anything extra as it was? How, for that matter, did you confess that you weren't spending nearly as much time as you wanted with somebody you really loved?

_Love should have a deadline, _Velma thought to herself. When something did not have a deadline, even if you cared about it more than anything in the world, it was not, it could not be, a priority. It could not replace that which had to be accomplished on a tight schedule.

"Everything's fine," she lied.

Shaggy hugged her. He saw right through her lie; he loved her too much to care very much, though. He simply sat with her, both of them grateful that scarce as time could be, they had _tonight_ together. Maybe, someday, they could start to have their whole _lives _together.

Maybe someday...

It wasn't long before Velma really did drift off into complete slumber; it was to be expected of someone who had been sleep-deprived all week. Shaggy was torn between shaking her awake or just falling asleep right with her leaning on him; there was no moving out from under her without waking her up. Sleep was the antidote that restored all things; watching Velma rest, Shaggy could not distinguish between the worn-thin, stretched-to-the-max Velma he had come to know recently and the happier Velma he had fallen in love with.

After all, they were the same Velma, and he loved her either way.

He kissed her forgivingly before he joined her in dreamland.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

"There you go, Janice..." Fred told his daughter, after finally squeezing Janice's left boot onto her tiny foot. Why someone who would do no walking in the snow required _boots _was beyond him; it was simply another way he humored his wife's desire to dress up the baby. These tiny boots which would be outgrown before the child ever learned to walk cost more than his own boots. Although he had to admit, un-macho as it was to think about this kind of thing, the boots were kind of cute...

Daphne, who had just put on the coat Freddie gave her for Christmas and a lime-green knitted cap, stepped out into the hall. "Are you two ready for our walk?" she asked. "At least, I'm assuming I'm talking to both of you... that bundle you're carrying really could just be a pile of blankets and I'd never know the difference."

"Yeah, the 'blankets' and I are ready..." Freddie answered. This really was probably their last chance for a walk in the woods while there was still snow on the ground; the weatherman was predicting highs in the mid-sixties by next week, and after that it likely wouldn't snow again, even if it did get cold enough.

They set foot outside, following the tracks in the woods from their numerous previous walks. Yet something felt new about every walk they took with Janice. Every time her eyes seemed a little more open, her young mind just a little more curious about this vast expanse called "outside."

Today Janice's eyes were brighter and more alert than ever. Daphne thought they were starting to take on a greenish tone. She watched her daughter's eyes as they followed everything in sight from a nearby cardinal to the Narnian lace the snow formed on the trees. February was either the ugliest or the most beautiful month of the year; it all depended on where you were.

And to a child, everything was beautiful.

"Hey Daphne... look..."

Daphne strolled over to the knothole in the tree where Fred was holding Janice up to look inside. She peered in, to where a family of squirrels was dozing peacefully.

"Adorable," she commented. Then she looked up above them. Quickly, remembering an incident from childhood, she looked down again and pulled her husband and daughter out from under the tree cautiously.

"Hey!" Freddie exclaimed.

"Remember when I was maybe nine... and we were all staring up at some icicles in the school yard... and one fell into my eye?" She pointed up into the branches of the tree, where a vast plethora of icicles glittered dangerously like a drawer full of knives. Fred nodded and followed her away from the tree.

"Oh yeah... I remember you being rushed to the emergency room, and how everyone was scared stiff that you were going to lose that eye or something. I remember that was where I got the idea to nickname you Danger-Prone-Daphne..."

"Do you remember how many boys I beat up after they started calling me that too?"

He shrugged. "You never did that to me."

"Well... you were the one who had the sense to run and tell the teachers about my injury, so I forgave _you_..."

"And all the time I assumed it was my charm and good looks."

"Well... that too..."

They walked onward, Janice keeping an eye on where the squirrels had been, once again the observant infant. She had never really seen a squirrel, come to think of it. At least, nobody had ever specifically pointed one out to her.

The walk took longer than usual, mainly due to Freddie's pointing to and describing everything in sight for Janice. Daphne didn't mind at all; it was their way of bonding.

But finally, the three began to get hungry, thus ending their romp in the woods. "Come on," she told the others. "Let's go back inside."

Fred nodded and joined Daphne on the main trail back to the house, all the while talking to Janice:

"Was that fun, Janice? Did you and Daddy and Mommy see lots of interesting things? Did you like it when--"

All of a sudden, he stopped short. Daphne hadn't been talking, but she felt a sharp pain in her chest as she forgot to breathe.

Janice had disappeared, straight from Fred's arms.

Each looked at the other, horrified, so frightened that they couldn't even scream.

"_What happened?_"

At least the fact that they both saw it happen meant that neither of them was crazy. Still, at the moment even lunacy was the least of their worries.

Their eyes darted about them. Nothing could have possibly snatched her; she was in full view of both of them. But then--

A shrieking cry simultaneously elevated and relaxed the fear within them. Janice _was _around; they had only to follow her voice.

Sure enough, there she was-- the bright magenta of her boots instantly recognizable against the snow. Daphne ran up and drew her into a firm, secure hug, not even caring that they were right... under... the icicle tree. The moment she noticed that detail she slid out from under it again, still not relaxing her hold on her daughter.

"What was that?" she asked bizarrely.

"I... I don't know..." he sputtered.

"We should call someone... I don't know... anyone who would know how this could happen!"

"Daphne... you know the people who have encountered more of the supernatural than anyone else in the world would be _us. _And if we tried telling anyone about this, you know the reaction we would get. They would probably take Janice away and lock us up in a crazy home or something."

"But I'm questioning my sanity already! I mean... this isn't the first time it's happened..." She thought back to the incident before Janice's bath. That was the same sort of thing... just on a smaller scale.

Fred reassured her. "Which is why I think you're not crazy. Aside from the fact that I saw it too, if you keep seeing this over and over and you never see anything else, chances are it's not just a random hallucination."

"So if it's not a hallucination... then Janice really is disappearing spontaneously! What if it had been somewhere really dangerous... like the pond... or the fireplace at home... or a highway full of busy traffic?"

"It wasn't, though. We should be thankful."

Daphne nodded, only slightly regaining her composure. It then occurred to her the one place she knew where anything out of the ordinary could be expected regularly; something inside her told her she should try it.

"The CCC," she pronounced in a shaky voice. "Maybe they would know something about it."

Fred nodded and took his wife and daughter inside the house, into the comfort of their living room, one of the most secure places either of them knew. He was very shocked and confused himself about the whole situation; he was simply more likely to keep his fear to himself.

He should be used to things like this by now; it wasn't the first time somebody he cared about had been whisked away by something he couldn't explain.

But it was different now. Back then, nine times out of ten, the person who disappeared was Daphne, who could defend herself, at least. This time it was a helpless child... one whom he should have been protecting... but how?

Perhaps Daphne's suggestion would yield something. Perhaps the CCC would be able to explain perfectly what had happened. Somehow, Fred dreaded this even more. The idea that his daughter was vulnerable to anything-- let alone something outside of his control, let alone the fact that any information whatsoever regarding this danger was a deeply kept, classified secret-- was scary. The possibility that it wasn't over, that he was about to receive more news about what really had happened, was scarier.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Okay... I warn you that this won't be a very good chapter. I've been dealing with this writer's block stuff (almost since I started the story, really, which would explain a lot, but today it's been really bad). Yet I've discovered that with writer's block, if I humor it, I never will come back to whatever I stopped writing. Unlike some authors I have to write things chronologically or I get confused, which stinks because I have much better ideas that may or may not save the story later on. Cross your fingers...

**Chapter 15:**

"Excuse me?" Daphne repeated. She and Fred were sitting in Mr. Mangetout's office, after a long and painful discussion.

"Like I said, this isn't something we regularly have to ask of infants... but the best thing for all concerned probably would be for Janice to go into hiding."

"Hiding." Freddie didn't seem to believe it.

"While I am embarrassed to say that our council's primary motivation was more for security's sake than for any other reason, there is still your daughter's own safety to consider."

"Why, exactly, though?"

Mr. Mangetout didn't feel like explaining it again, but sensitive to the couple's feelings, he offered the best explanation he could.

"The HTRT recently discovered that the presence of some common chemicals in our own infirmary have been known distort the gene pool. Unborn children are apparently the most susceptible to alterations, but it's likely that minor changes have occurred within your own genome."

Suddenly two and two came together for Daphne.

"Like improved hearing?"

"The possibility of mutations of that nature has been suggested but never proven."

"And you think that's what's been causing all this?" Fred gripped his armrest nervously.

Mr. Mangetout sighed. "We believe that your daughter has acquired the psychic ability to manipulate the laws of physics. While we are uncertain as to what extent this may cover, it appears that she has taken advantage of Heisenberg's uncertainty prinicple."

"Meaning--?"

"Heisenberg stated that the precise location of a given particle cannot be known at the same time as the precise details of its motion. Basically, if you know the _exact _direction something is headed in, you cannot know where it is. Thus it is possible for a given particle to randomly disappear and reappear in a different location. This was before now theoretical and even something as large as an atom has never been known to do that."

"So every single particle in Janice's body could just randomly move to another spot if she wanted to?"

"That and then some," Mr. Mangetout explained. "We believe fully that if she can muster the power to do this with herself, she can probably relocate small objects around her as well."

_Like pacifiers? _Daphne wondered comically.

"At any rate, the amount of ability it would take to tap into the uncertainty principle at all is profoundly astronomical-- physicists and psychologists alike would have not a field day but a World Series with this information. Understand of course that this is simply our standing theory right now... but given our findings it's the only posed explanation that's even plausible."

Daphne felt very cold all of a sudden. "Are... are they going to run any more tests?" Was her daughter about to become somebody's lab rat?

"The HTRT researchers submitted multiple requests for the rights to study Janice Jones." He paused. "It was within my authority to veto them all. I hope you don't mind, but to allow prolonged experimentation on one who is too young to give her own consent steps beyond the boundaries of what I believe most scientists would consider standard experimentation ethics."

"I... thank you..." Daphne could not hide her immense relief.

Mr. Mangetout nodded and frowned. "But I warn you, Mrs. Jones, that this does heighten the need for security measures. If any such behaviors were observed by the scientific community, the 'greater good' arguments would likely win the controversy. Yes, I'm afraid that if this ever were researched, be it now or when she's eighteen, there would no doubt be numerous debates regarding the uses of such a gene. It would likely be wisest to wait until she is mature enough to decide if she wants that."

"So we have to hide our own daughter?"

"Until more is known, at least. We aren't sure whether this is something she is deliberately controlling or if this could be a subconscious mechanism she will never master. Quite possibly, if she is able to avoid disappearing against her will and is old enough to keep a secret, she will be able to venture out, integrating into the public school systems and never appearing different from any other schoolgirl. Or maybe this will even disappear on its own. We aren't sure how long-term these alterations might be."

"But how can we keep her _hidden_? She doesn't always stay where we left her even while she's resting in our arms!"

"The only person who really has complete control here is Janice. Neither you nor I nor anyone in this facility can do anything about that. But she appears to travel only to places which are familiar to her. As long as you are rigid about making sure that she stays within the boundaries of your own home or other secure areas, hopefully she will never move beyond them. This is a huge burden to ask of anyone, but I believe you will agree it is necessary."

As Daphne and Fred left the office, the future began crashing down on them.

Hiding. _Isolation. _Daphne had never imagined having to do that to her child. She had envisioned sending a five-year-old off on her first day of school, as well-dressed and fashion-conscious as her mother, the lunch Daphne would have packed swinging in the fuschia lunchbox the girl would be carrying.

Janice couldn't go to school now. She would certainly be too young to keep quiet about this at age five. What if, when she was finally old enough, it was realized that she couldn't control this ability? What if she had to be locked up _forever?_

She and Fred put their arms around each other in the parking lot, comforting each other. They realized that soon they would have to pick Janice up from daycare, relieved that no incidents had occurred there, understanding that they had the drive over there to invent an excuse for why they would be pulling her out... hopefully Janice never would come back to daycare on her own. They would need to provide some other care for her... would one of them have to quit work?

So many questions burned inside Daphne. She felt Mr. Mangetout had told them everything he himself knew; unfortunately it wasn't nearly enough. She had an idea, but its confrontational nature did not appeal to her at all. She would have to speak with the HTRT.

But she knew only one person who worked there...


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Aaack, still writer's blocked... this is frustrating...

**Chapter 16:**

Daphne knocked on Velma's door and waited. She knew it had only been two hours since work ended, but she needed answers, and her friend was probably the one person who could tell her.

Velma opened the door. "Hey Daphne," she greeted her friend, trying to sound enthusiastic despite the circles under her eyes. "How've you been?"  
Daphne hesitated. This was the sort of thing that pounded against your lips, begging to be released, but that you somehow couldn't just lay out all at once, not when both of you greeted each other so casually, so carefreely.

"Good, I guess..." Daphne finally answered.

"Here... can I get you some coffee?" Velma offered.

Daphne shrugged. "Sure."

Velma walked into the kitchen and opened the canister. There was only a tiny bit left. Jinkies, that was odd... she had just opened a new one the day before yesterday. How many cups had she had, again, during last night's all-nighter?

Hoping that her friend wouldn't mind the coffee's being on the weak side, Velma prepared what was left and joined Daphne at the table. She had to push a lot of papers out of the way to make room for both of them.

"Been busy?" Daphne asked.

Velma nodded. "Yeah. I've just missed a lot of work. My appointment with my obstetrician yesterday ran longer than expected. Now I just need to catch up on everything."

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine," Velma quickly informed her. Everyone was always asking her things like that; she rather disliked this image that she was somehow fragile. "I just spent forever in the waiting room. The doctor was pretty far behind and I had to wait a good hour and a half before he could even see me."

"Ouch," Daphne commented. Then, trying to sound light and conversational, she asked, "Velma... what exactly do you do on the HTRT? I mean, I know you guys work with alien technology and everything, but what kind of studies, specifically?" If Velma was anything like herself, surely she would be about to explode with piles of information; the trouble was, Velma _hadn't _been herself lately, and Mystery Inc. was noticing. It wasn't that Velma was not the same genius she always had been; it was simply that her habit of spouting off random facts and statistics-- or even just making conversation-- seemed to be fading, somehow. It was as if what she used to do automatically suddenly required more energy and effort than she had anymore.

Velma shrugged. "Everyone gets different assignments."

"Do you ever work with equipment we use at the CCC? Like, say, in the infirmary, for example?"

Velma looked thoughtful. "Well... a couple weeks ago MkKay and I were asked to analyze some fluids from in there... but before we could get very far Mr. Harolds came in and said another research partnership would take it over and that we should move on to our next assignment."

"Did he say why?"

"No, but there have been lots of times when we've been reassigned at the last minute. Sometimes they just want to give the case to people with more experience."

Daphne drew in a deep breath. "I... I think I have an idea why they wanted you reassigned, Velma."

"Why's that?"

"Because," Daphne answered, trying to stay in control, "I think they realized even that early on that any exposure could harm your baby."

Velma stared at her friend. "What?"

Daphne confessed. "I just found out that my own exposure while I was pregnant with Janice has caused some... differences..."

"Like what?" Velma asked, concerned.

Daphne had no choice now but to tell Velma everything Mr. Mangetout had told her. She willed herself not to cry, as she had been off and on for the past few days. When she finished, Velma spoke.

"I'm sorry, Daphne! They never told me anything about that..." A horrified expression dawned on her face. "Daphne...?"

"Velma... how long were you exposed?"

"Just for a few minutes... but the concentration was nearly 10 M! That's a pretty strong solution... wouldn't they have told me, though, if there was a chance that... if it was possible for..."

"Your baby to be affected too? Yes, it would seem that they would have to at least let you know..."

Of course Daphne would never wish anything like this on her friend, but a mean thought occurred to her: If Velma's child exhibited any abnormalities like Janice did, she would probably have to isolate him or her as well... and then maybe they could go into hiding together, somehow. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if the children didn't have to be alone.

Daphne tried to snap out of it. These were horrible thoughts to have, yet the idea that maybe Janice could grow up with one friend her age conforted Daphne in a way that disgusted her.

Velma was staring out the window, the uncertainty gripping her. Nobody had told Daphne that the chemical was dangerous until her daughter started showing signs of alterations... maybe that would happen to Velma. What if her baby were harmed in some way that was even worse than what happened to Janice? What if...

Velma tried to pull these thoughts from her head. Her baby was perfectly healthy as of what the obstetrician told her just the day before, although she should be avoiding stress more... according to him. Maybe he was right... this whole time the very fact that she even was pregnant often got pushed to the back of her mind, somehow. Other priorities crept in and begged to be attended to; other needs had to be met first. She couldn't exactly just quit her job though, and she couldn't simply not do the work she was assigned. She owed it to the team, after all. It was her duty.

But the assignments weren't going to change, either. She would have to carry on with them, until...

Until when? What about when the baby was born? What about when she had to be a _mom_?

She pushed these thoughts out of her head. Her work was important; her fellow researchers, after all, had figured out what was wrong with Janice, even if they couldn't correct it yet. Perhaps her work would cure diseases, or improve standards of living for people worldwide. Her work was valuable.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Daphne's next question.

"Velma? Do you think I might... am I still contaminated?"

"Daphne!" Velma disliked the idea that either of them were, as Daphne had stated, "contaminated." That made it scarier, somehow, the idea that something could be permanently wrong with both of them.

"No, I'm serious. I mean, they mentioned that I could have been affected too... can I pass this on to any future children?"

"I honestly don't know... maybe if I read the file by the researchers who received the assignment..."

Daphne looked at her already-overworked friend and said, "No, thanks... you've got enough on your plate. Although it would be really, really nice to know..."

Velma blurted out, "Do you mean that you and Fred are going to have another--?"

Understanding this potential interpretation, Daphne shook her head. "No... not yet, anyway. It's just... going through this with Janice has been crazy. I really love her and I'm glad I've got her. It's just... I don't know if I could go through this again. The time she disappeared in the forest scared me half to death."

Velma placed her hand upon Daphne's. "Daphne... you've only known about this for less than a week. Maybe it won't be so bad after a while... and maybe next time around it'll be easier to deal with, since you'll at least know what's happening. Assuming, of course, that anything _will _happen. Your next child could be--" She stopped short.

Daphne inserted the word she knew Velma wanted to say. "Normal?"

Velma nodded. She hadn't exactly wanted to say the word, as it just occurred to her that to use it would imply that Janice _wasn't _normal. Granted, she really wasn't... but that was something Daphne didn't need pointed out to her.

"Maybe," Daphne agreed.

Her next child... she and Fred really hadn't talked seriously about the possibility. She knew Freddie loved children, and in other let's-talk-about-the-future-type conversations he had often mentioned "our kid_s_"-- _kids_, plural. Presumably he did want more than one... but were his feelings different now, too? Maybe the same what-if questions that haunted Daphne about Janice's future worried him, too. Maybe he didn't want to have to put two children into hiding either. Then again, if Janice had a brother or sister, one who was like her, maybe she wouldn't be lonely. Maybe another child could not only be handled; maybe it was what the family _needed_.

Daphne and Velma chatted for a while, until Daphne looked at the clock. "Jeepers, I'm late... Fred's always getting on my case about that..."

"Late for what?"

"He's taking me out to dinner." She zipped up her coat.

"Really? Any special occasion?"

"Nothing... other than that it's Valentine's Day."

_Thud. _Velma's head hit the table. Valentine's Day. She had completely forgotten about it. Shaggy had asked her to be at his apartment... jinkies, fifteen minutes ago. She jumped up.

"I completely forgot!" She grabbed her tote and made her way out the door. "Shaggy was going to take me to--"

Daphne watched her harried friend. Lately she had been wondering if Shaggy and Velma were really getting along so well... she saw less and less of them together as of late. Of course, she was seeing less and less of Velma at all as of late. Her friend was changing.

This hurt, really. Daphne couldn't pinpoint exactly _what _was different about Velma... that is, she couldn't really think of anything that was specifically _wrong_. She longed desperately to help her friend, but was there anything to help _with_? She had come to her friend's home for comfort; instead she was filled with an intense desire to comfort her friend.

But Velma really had been a comfort, even in her modified state. The old Velma wasn't dead; she was just going through a phase of some kind... a winter. She had become a cold blanket of snow, but Daphne could find grass, hope, and spring if she looked hard enough.

She smiled brightly at her friend. "Have fun with Shaggy. Like I said... Fred will probably be pretty ticked off if I'm late."

She hugged Velma and ran to her car.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

Shaggy opened the front door the instant he saw Velma out the window. He hadn't even waited for her to knock.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, Shaggy! I entirely forgot what day it was. I--"

"Like I'm just glad you came! Here... we can wait for a later showing of the movie... then we wouldn't have to leave for another half-hour..."

Velma hugged him. Again, there was that horrible feeling of guilt that seemed to grip her a lot lately whenever she was with him. How could being near someone you cared about so much make you feel so awful?

Shaggy invited her into the living room. He was thrilled to be with her this Valentine's Day; maybe now they could have some long overdue conversation. He needed to know more about... everything. He needed to know how his own baby was doing, and he really needed to talk about the possibility of getting married. Just because neither of them had mentioned it in months didn't mean they couldn't talk about it now. He didn't have to propose tonight... just to mention the idea, to see how Velma might feel about it.

But where to start, though? The more catching up there was to do, the harder it felt to even start running.

Maybe the best course of action was to hold off on catching up at all for now. Maybe the best course of action was to just start _moving_.

"So... I actually started _Fahrenheit 451_."

"Really? What part are you on?"

"Um... chapter eight..."

Velma smiled. "Liar. _Fahrenheit 451 _doesn't _have _eight chapters."

"Okay... I'm not on chapter eight. I just finished reading the introduction."

Velma grinned. "You really could skip that part, you know. The introduction usually makes the book sound more boring than it is."

"Like that's really, really a relief. And you read the book when you were five?"

"Well... it wasn't like it was my fifth _birthday_... I was probably closer to five-and-a-half."

"So I've really got six years to finish it before our kid does?"

"As long as you don't slack off..."

"Of course, he could take after me..."

"By Murphy's Law, the only way to be sure of that is to finish every single page in the book. Then you can rest assured that he won't read it until--"

"--until his future girlfriend tells him he has to." Shaggy liked the fact that Velma smiled at his response. She was in a better mood than she was a week ago, at least. "So... what are we going to name him, anyway? Or her?"

Velma honestly hadn't thought about this in the slightest lately. Her ordinarily abundant planning skills that liked to sort out the future were constantly focused on the nearer future than the distant August 16th, her due date. She looked thoughtful, though.

"Well... if it's a girl we could name her Marie, after Madame Curie..." Shaggy probably scarcely knew who that was, if at all. "Sorry," Velma told him. "Maria Skłodowska-Curie was one of my childhood heroes... if you don't like that name we can pick a different one..."

"No, I think it's pretty good... 'Marie Curie Rogers.' We'll leave out the 'Skłodowska' part, though. And what if it's a boy?"

"We can always call him Norville, like his father..."

Shaggy made a face. "I hated that name growing up. And you can't exactly put a name like 'Shaggy' on a birth certificate, can you?"

"I like the name 'Shaggy!' But I guess you do have a point... well, maybe later we'll get an idea for a boy's name. Until we do... we'll just hope it's a girl!"

Something was starting to feel surreal about this conversation, somehow. Like after going for days without really seeing each other, they were all of a sudden chattering on as though they lived together... as though they were _married_ or something...

Velma shuddered suddenly. How could someone go so quickly from feeling so relaxed and elated to feeling scared stiff? The comparison she had just made, once the object of careless fantasies, became scary, somehow, in this context.

In _what _context?

Maybe it was that before, there was no _obligation_ to get married. She could have said yes or she could have said no if he had proposed months ago. Now...

She still didn't _have_ to say yes. Marriage was a completely voluntary action. Nobody would force her to marry him if she didn't want to... but that didn't even matter because she _did_... right?

She did still want to marry him... but it wasn't the same as before. Now it didn't feel like her decision at all. Now it felt more as though marrying him would be the only thing anyone would expect her to do. Everything lost its luster once it was _expected._

_Snap out of it, _Velma told herself. _Shaggy hasn't even said anything about marriage yet; it's all in your head. And if anyone _expects_ us to get married, it's only because we're in love and it's obvious._

Velma didn't like that sentence, oddly. It sounded like she was trying to _convince _someone (but who? herself?) that she was really in love with Shaggy, that their love even existed. Of course it did... but why did she feel so helpless in defending that statement?

Shaggy was smiling, comfortably oblivious to Velma's ponderings. Yet now his smile was more serious, as though he had something on his mind.

"Velma... of course we're going to be... well, we're going to be a family. And I guess I was just wondering..."

Shoot, he _was _going to bring up the possibility of marriage. Velma didn't want to talk about that right now. It was too stressful, too confusing. In fact, all she really wanted was to go back to the way things were, back when they were simply boyfriend and girlfriend. You might love your boyfriend; you might not, but you didn't have to _worry _about it either way. Shaggy loved her, she knew... but part of her wondered how much she really loved him back.

This was crazy, though! She had realized she loved him a long time ago, when one day out of the blue he had simply come up to her at work and kissed her. Or did she realize it then? What if the kiss surprised and delighted her so much she never did question whether she had ever actually wanted it before then?

_You're not even thinking straight, _the logical side of her mind told her. _You've been in love with him since last August, possibly longer, and just now you're having doubts? Would you throw away something you've known for so long based on a few hours' uneasiness?_

Velma liked listening to this side of her. She _wanted _to love him, at the very least, and right now that was enough. They didn't have to talk about marriage right then and there; there would be plenty of time for that... some other time. Velma stood up.

"Shaggy? We'd probably better leave right about now if we're going to make it to the theater in time."

"Aw, the first twenty minutes of the movie is always just a lot of ads and previews anyway..."

"Maybe so. But you usually spend about twenty minutes at the snack bar before the show."

Shaggy sighed. "It's true." He would have forgone any snacks at all at the theater for those twenty minutes in which he could tell Velma what he was really hoping he could ask her. But she did seem eager to leave. Something about her said that this wasn't the time nor the place.

"All right, then. Let's hit the road." He kissed her and they walked out the door.

**A/N: **Just in case you were wondering... I don't do bummers. Okay, that's a lie... what I should have said is that I don't do bummers in _fanfic _(my romances where _I _own the copyright have actually been known to make my friends cry). But I promise you this story doesn't just keep getting depressing. It has a happy ending. In fact, I'll make the next chapter a happy one. Promise!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

Freddie crept into Janice's room. Daphne was in there, staring over the railing of the crib at the dozing infant.

Daphne nodded at him and slipped out of the room, beckoning for him to follow. They tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"So." Daphne clearly was not going to attach any sentence to the conjunction; she was somehow stating a two-letter word that by itself spoke volumes.

Freddie turned on the light in the kitchen, then rose to prepare coffee for both himself and his wife. It was eerily silent, yet neither of them wanted to break the silence. Still, there was a reason they had crept downstairs. They needed to talk.

"So," Fred repeated; alas, he had less talent for one-word sentences. "She really didn't look like she was going anywhere..."

Daphne nodded. "Even if she were, what could we do?"

"If she were older, we could ground her for trying to sneak out." Fred tried to smile.

"But we're practically grounding her anyway! And it's not even just from movies and ball games... she can't go to school, we can't take her to church, and if she ever got really sick or something--"

"--we'd take her to the infirmary at the CCC."

"That's where this started, though..."

"It was a one-time thing, Daphne. Plenty of people are harmed from radiation or medicine or even plain old mistakes even at conventional hospitals. We can't just hold a grudge."

Daphne sighed. "I guess not. I guess I just feel like we're punishing her for something she can't even help..."

"Or can she?" Freddie inquired.

Daphne thought a moment. "I... I really don't know..."

"Think about it, Daphne. When she didn't want you to bathe her, she moved _away _from the bathtub, even if it was only by a few feet. And where did she go when she disappeared in the woods?"

"Under the icicle tree!"

Fred laughed. "That's one point of view. But remember, that's where we saw the squirrels. Maybe she just wanted to go back for another look."

"Oh... I forgot... but what about the pacifier incidents? How almost every night her pacifiers move away from her? If she really were in control of this, why would she be using the ability to get rid of them... and then cry once they're gone?"

"Okay... you've got me. But I do remember this one kid my mom used to babysit who kept tossing his pacifiers out of the crib, then got a kick out of watching Mom try to retrieve them. In fact..." He looked thoughtful. "Here's an experiment we ought to try. See, one night we should just not bring back her pacifier. I'll feel really rotten if I'm wrong, but I bet that if she _can _decide whether or not to use this power, that would be the last night the pacifier would disappear. It's a way to test it, at least..."

"Power?" This was the first time someone had labeled it as such.

Fred grinned. He hadn't meant to use the word; it just naturally seemed to fit. "Yeah... our baby has special powers. She'll be a superhero!"

"If you really are right that this isn't random coincidence... then yeah, I guess if she only used it in secret... she could have a lot of fun with this..."

" 'Fun?' I'm talking serious crime-fighting! She'll be a superhero just like her mother... say, you never did show me that outfit..."

Daphne felt a smile on her own face for a change. "Let's hold off on the crime-fighting until we can at least trust her not to use her powers at school."

"We can always homeschool her until then."

"But then one of us would surely have to quit work... I mean, it's really great that my dad's been watching her during the day, even though he's retired, seeing as he's got security clearance... but watching her and homeschooling her are completely different. The latter is a lot more to ask of someone..."

"Would she have to have school during the day? That's the beauty of homeschooling, Daphne... you can do it whenever you want. We could give her lessons after work, in the evenings. Maybe we could even turn one of our three spare bedrooms into a classroom. Although..." He looked inspired, a new idea forming in his mind.

"Although what?"

"Do you ever wish we _didn't _have three extra rooms? We should try to fill them up sometime, you know that?"

"You mean, have more children?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Daphne rested her cheek in her hand. "It's possible," she allowed thoughtfully, although she was really grateful that Fred was open to the possibility. "But... especially with jobs like ours, do you really want to risk something like this happening all over again? I'm not even convinced that I couldn't give our second child a mutation like this, somehow."

"Daphne... you've said before that you wanted a lot of kids. I don't think you should let worries like this stop you now. Janice is healthy, and I'm even sure she's happy. If another kid could have a life that's as good as hers is now, I think we should give him a chance to live it."

"So we should have another kid?"

"If it's what you want-- and I have no doubts that this is what either of us wants-- I'd say definitely."

"All right." Daphne stood up. "They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..."

Two could play at the proverbs game. "And why put off until tomorrow what can be accomplished today?" Fred was catching on. Laughing, Daphne followed him back up the stairs.

Things were going to be okay.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Remember: The story _will _end happily. Promise.

**Chapter 19:**

Velma stared out the window, tears raining down her cheeks. Hey, it was March... the first day of spring... rain seemed to fit. Only this wasn't a lively sort of rain. It was harsh, cold, and dreary. No way was today spring.

Everything had been going okay. It really had. At least, it felt that way...

Or had it? Over the past month, the cloud of uncertainty seemed to grow darker over her head every day. Even when everything was going really well, the cloud was there, haunting her.

But had the cloud really begun raining on her? Or had she caved, given in to it, rather than running for shelter when she could? Could she really blame anyone or anything other than herself?

She squeezed a second sweater over the one she was already wearing. It _was _still winter, and she was freezing. Her heart, at least, felt very, very cold.

How had she been so stupid? All of this was her fault. She vaguely remembered the last time she cried at her own stupidity... but even that was nothing compared to what she felt now.

"Velma?"

She turned around quickly. Daphne was standing outside the door. Velma flung the door open.

"I came as soon as I got your message. Velma... what's the matter?"

Velma said nothing; she only cried harder, the pain flowing out for her friend to bear.

----------------------------------------------

"Shaggy?"

Freddie came across his friend quite unexpectedly. He was about to go up to the counter to order some Chinese takeout when he noticed Shaggy... alone... slumped over in one of the booths... not eating anything. The latter was the red flag.

"Shaggy? Is everything all right?"

Shaggy shook his head. He seemed dazed, stunned, confused. This was beyond his general run-and-hide reaction to ghosts and zombies. His expression held no fight-or-flight determination of any kind.

This was surrendering, hopeless loss.

"What happened?"

Shaggy didn't know exactly how to put it. The past month had been spectacular. He and Velma had been getting along... well, better than during the slump between Christmas and Valentine's Day. Had they really been past that stage... or were they both just denying it now?

And tonight had been perfect, beautiful, with nothing that could go wrong. It was as unsinkable as the Titanic.

Then everything came crashing down.

He rested his hand in his pocket, wrapping his fingers around a box. How had an evening that was destined to be perfect turned out so _wrong_?

He tried to explain. "I asked Velma to marry me."

----------------------------------------------

"So he asked you to marry him."

Velma nodded.

"And you said no."

Velma nodded again.

"Velma... it's not as bad as you think. So maybe you weren't ready to get married just yet. It's a big decision. It doesn't mean anything if you needed more time."

Velma looked at her friend forlornly, wishing things were as simple as Daphne made them out to be. "It's more than that, Daphne. I... I got mad at him."

"You got mad at him?" Daphne looked curious but said nothing more, allowing her friend to continue telling the story her own way.

"And I don't even know why. Or... maybe I do..."

"Do... do you want to tell me why?"

"Well... I'm not really sure. That is, I'm not sure why I got mad. If I were sure I'd love to tell you." Velma stared across the room. "Okay... maybe I do know. But it doesn't make very much sense..."

"Try me."

Velma breathed. "Well... when I've been with Shaggy lately, I'd sort of feel almost... like I can't even describe it. See, we'd get together, and we'd be talking, and I'll feel really, really good about everything. But then he would sort of hint that he would like to marry me, and all of a sudden I would feel scared to death... somehow."

"Velma, it's all right. Lots of people feel nervous about getting married, and it's better to have these qualms before the wedding than after."

Velma shook her head. "It wasn't just nerves... something felt wrong about it. Like maybe if we got married, it would be for the wrong reasons. I'm worried we might be rushing into this just because of the baby and... and I don't know if I can ever even sort out whether or not I really do love Shaggy. What kills me is that I know Shaggy loves me... at least, I'm pretty sure he does. But would he still marry me if we didn't 'have to'?"

"Velma... relax. You will figure it out eventually. Maybe it will take years, or maybe you will wake up tomorrow and realize you really do love him. Love isn't a race; you've got time to figure it out."

Velma buried her head in her hands. "It isn't that simple. See, there's more to the story than me getting mad. See, I was... _panicked. _I yelled at him. I said some horrible things I never should have said. Then we had this huge fight and... and then we just sort of..." Velma couldn't speak any longer.

She didn't need to speak. Daphne held her crying friend in silence, allowing the river of tears to spill across her, absorbing the anguish of a broken heart.

----------------------------------------------

"So you guys broke up?"

Shaggy half nodded, half shook his head. It was a peculiar motion that made Freddie almost wonder if he was answering the question or trying to wake himself up.

"Like... never officially. But it's obvious she doesn't want to talk to me. Now I'm wondering if she really wanted to be with me at all tonight. Like I don't even know if she really ever loved me the way I thought she did... the way I loved her..." Suddenly, Shaggy straightened up. True, he had never been as macho as Fred was, but pouring out one's heart like this fell way beyond the boundaries of what anyone considered manly.

Fred gave him a nod that said it was all right.

"Shaggy... don't worry about it. Sometimes women get mad for no apparent reason. It could blow over."

"I don't think that was it. See... lately she's been... distant. Like sometimes I wonder if she wasn't planning to break up with me ages ago. Like maybe we were never meant to be..."

Fred thought back. "Shaggy... even if she did want to leave you, that doesn't mean she never wants to come back. Trust me, you saw how many years it took Daphne and me to get together and _stay _together. You saw how many times we went our separate ways."

"But you were teenagers... kids. If Velma can't stay with me... let alone marry me... now, even taking the baby into account... will she ever?"

"Shaggy, you're not going to like to hear this... but maybe you'll have to put that aside for a while. Even though you would _like _to think that getting married would be the right thing to do... and that's not to say it necessarily wouldn't be... would it be any more right to marry someone you don't really care about than to not marry her?"

"But I do care about her!" That was why this hurt so much. If he didn't care about her, how could his heart be so torn at this?

"Then _that _should be your focus in wanting to marry her. Nothing else. And we haven't exactly eliminated the possibility that she might love you back, either. You're both very upset and confused right now, but maybe you can work this out after you've had time to forgive each other... and to forgive yourselves."

Shaggy slumped down in the seat until his forehead was almost level with the table. "It's my fault, really. If I wasn't so focused on trying to ask her to marry me for so long, maybe I..." He swallowed. "Maybe I could have actually enjoyed the time while we _were _together. I miss her so much..."

"Stop beating yourself up, Shaggy. It's not your fault and it's not her fault. People who love each other sometimes make mistakes. You can get through this."

Shaggy took comfort in these words: _People who love each other... _Maybe he and Velma really were in love. Maybe, in spite of everything, there was still hope.

----------------------------------------------

"Listen, Daphne, I'm really, really, really sorry I took so long picking up the food, but--"

"It's all right," Daphne told her husband as he came in the door. "Believe it or not, I only just got home myself. Velma needed to talk to me."

Freddie froze as he was opening the white cardboard cartons. "So... you know about...?"

"Were you talking to Shaggy?"

Fred nodded. "I feel so bad for them, you know that? Shaggy's practically convinced Velma doesn't want anything to do with him anymore."

"Really? Because that's not how Velma sounded when I talked to her."

"They're both insecure, I'll bet. They probably each had different ideas about where the relationship was going, and eventually this was going to come up."

"I don't know that they really had such different _ideas, _so much... I think they both knew what was going to happen. I think Velma got scared that she was losing control, somehow, and tried to change what was happening. She likes to make her own choices, and I think she felt threatened at knowing what was bound to happen, regardless of whether or not she wanted it."

"I really hope they're okay," Freddie admitted. "I'm a little worried about what could happen to Mystery Inc. if they can't even speak to each other again."

"I'm worried about Velma, to be honest," Daphne confided in her husband. "She's going through so much, I really worry about the baby. But she doesn't like me to ask about it."

"Don't forget, you went through a lot of stress with Janice. You nearly died yourself at one point, remember? But now both of you are okay."

"Mostly," Daphne amended for him.

Fred shook his head. "No. You _are _okay. And I think Velma's baby will be too."

"I hope so. I just don't know whether she can take another blow. She seems to be slipping further and further away..."

Fred sighed. "I'll admit... sometimes I worry about her too. She's part of our team, and I don't want anything to happen to her... or Shaggy."

It suddenly occurred to Daphne what a leader Fred truly was. It was more than simply being the guy who drove the Mystery Machine and set up the traps for the bad guy... he really cared about his team and everyone on it. Keeping them together at all costs was important to him.

Later that evening, after the takeout was consumed and Janice was in bed, Fred and Daphne made their way up to their room, embracing. They paused for a moment in the bedroom of their daughter, who was resting peacefully, her pacifier in her mouth. Fred's suggestion seemed to have worked; not a single pacifier had disappeared since. That had been an enormous comfort in and of itself.

The couple settled down in their own room, grateful for their daughter, praying for their friends.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20:**

The following two weeks were entirely unendurable.

Shaggy had never realized before how much effort it had been to make time for each other; how they really never saw each other without meaning to. Perhaps if Velma were still working with the rest of the team, they would have accidentally run into each other sooner or later. Maybe they would have been assigned to the same task. Maybe they would even be _talking _to each other by now. Maybe, if they were given the same long, meaningless task which required no brain power whatsoever, they could have talked in the middle of it, could have had some meaningful conversation.

Or maybe they would have just killed each other. How badly _did _Velma hate him, anyhow?

_She never said she hated you! _Shaggy told himself forcefully. _She never even said she _broke up _with you. But surely if she hasn't talked to you by now..._

_Well you haven't talked to her either!_

He did have a point. Why hadn't he tried _calling _Velma? Maybe it was like one of those checkers games where everyone keeps making "safe" moves until the game becomes a stalemate, as neither player on either side is able to make a move due to the fortress built by the other side. Maybe if they could ever even tolerate each other again, someone would have to take a risk.

Why not him?

He picked up the phone. He started dialing her number, his index finger trembling so much he could barely hit the right numbers with accuracy. He had to hang up and start over a few times. Finally, on the fourth try, he reached the penultimate digit and was about to finish dialing... when he gave up anyway. He chickened out.

No, he did not chicken out. He simply did not feel like having this conversation over the phone. He set off to speak with her in person.

He knocked once on her door. Nothing. He gave her ample time to answer it, then knocked again. Still nothing. Maybe she saw who it was. Maybe she really did hate him. Maybe she just wanted him to go away.

No, Shaggy decided. The apartment looked kind of dark. So what if she wasn't home? He could just try again tomorrow... or maybe the next day... it was no big deal.

He turned around and almost ran into Mrs. Chong, who occupied the apartment right next to Velma's. "Oh... sorry..." he told the lady.

Mrs. Chong smiled. "It's all right... but were you looking for Velma?" Shaggy nodded. "Because she just left early this morning. She asked me to come over and water her plants."

"Oh," Shaggy answered. Then he realized that if she left "this morning" and she still somehow "just left"-- then she must be planning to be away for a while, especially if she needed to ask anyone to water her plants for her. Of course, she already _had _been away for a while... but not physically. Still, though... Shaggy didn't even know Velma _had _any plants; she must have gotten them in the stretch of time in which they weren't speaking. If they _were _speaking, of course, Shaggy would have known perfectly well about the plants the moment they crossed the apartment's threshold. And he probably would have been the one watering them-- he would certainly know about Velma's going away.

"How long is she going to be gone?" he asked Mrs. Chong casually.

"Close to two weeks... she's gone on travel to... Singapore, I think..."

"_Singapore?_" Velma had crossed the entire planet without his knowledge? And she would be gone for _two weeks_?

"Yes. Was there something urgent you needed to speak with her about?"

"Kinda..." Shaggy didn't really feel like going into deep detail with a woman who, while pleasant, he probably wouldn't even know if she weren't Velma's neighbor.

"Because she gave me the phone number of the hotel she'd be staying at, if you'd like to know what it is..."

"Uh, sure... thanks..."

Mrs. Chong dug through her purse and pulled out a pencil and a pad of Post-It notes. She copied the number from another scrap of paper and handed the small magenta square to Shaggy.

"Like, thank you so much..."

Mrs. Chong nodded. Shaggy made his way back to his own apartment, clutching the paper in the palm of his hand. He didn't want to lose it, yet the prospect of actually dialing the number he had been given struck him as being extremely bold... how did he know Velma hadn't requested to go on travel specifically to get away from him? But it wasn't like they ever saw each other anyway...

Shaggy found his pace quickening. He picked up as much speed as he could. He raced all the way up to his apartment, the phone number practically burning his hands off. He was going to call her... everything would be all right... he was going to call her and tell her he was sorry he tried to rush into everything, and that if all she wanted right now was to keep going out like they had been that was fine, and that if she didn't even want to do that he'd settle to just be friends... like they always were... _anything_ was better than this...

Shaggy hurried to pick up the receiver.

He put it down again.

He really didn't have the heart for much of anything anymore...


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21:**

Business trips. Velma had never been on one before. Signing up for this two-week conference had been very last-minute.

Originally, Velma fought long and hard against going. Sixteen people from the HTRT were supposed to sign up to share the team's research and inventions at some worldwide symposium-- the tricky part would be in not revealing where they learned certain pieces of information. Still, going was an honor, and at first finding a full list of people to sign up had been no problem. Then two people ducked out at the last minute, and somebody else needed to replace them. This was four days before the conference was supposed to start, and nobody could sign up now that they had other plans for the next two weeks.

Except Velma.

It was an escape. Her reason for initially declining when the sign-up sheet was first passed around was that it would be for _two weeks. _Two weeks was too long to be away from home... away from Shaggy...

Shaggy...

Velma reached into her totebag and pulled out a chart she should have been working on. Work. It was the one way she forget about how she had treated him... about how much both of them had been hurt. It used to be a burden when it interfered with her interaction with Shaggy; now it was her savior when she found her mind wandering back to him. It was easier to deal with problems on paper than to deal with problems in real life.

Which was why she was going on travel. She didn't like to think of it as "getting away," but the truth was she needed a break. A break from hurt and pain and confusion. A break from reality.

She checked the time on the airport clock. They would be loading in nearly half an hour.

"So... an eighteen-hour flight. You and me. I'll let you have the window seat."

Velma groaned inwardly. The rule had been that if an HTRT member attended the conference, so did her partner. That meant Judd MkKay.

Velma compared their tickets. First-class, seats 6A and 6B. The HTRT had of course paid for the tickets; it was nice that they had been given first-class. Still, at the thought of riding next to MkKay the entire time, Velma would have sooner ridden in the baggage compartment. The one that wasn't pressurized.

For a wild moment, she wondered if she could trade her ticket with somebody riding coach. Why not? MkKay was required to attend the conference with her; whoever said that meant they had to sit together on the plane?

But then again, she wouldn't put it past him to pull the same stunt and wind up sitting next to her anyway. Something really had a way of creeping her out about him...

-------------------------------------------

It had been an incredibly long flight, and Velma had not slept a wink the entire time.

She probably should have, come to think of it. But in order to fall asleep, she had to be relaxed. To be relaxed, she had to put her work away. After she put her work away, the distraction's effectiveness was removed... and her thoughts returned to--

_Stop that, _she told herself.

Unfortunately, about an hour before the plane landed, she ran out of things to do. This was something that until recently she had yearned for almost constantly-- to have no assignments, for there to be no work hanging over her head. But now it tortured her. She wished she had brought a newspaper or something.

She spent the rest of the flight, as well as the time waiting at the baggage claim, as well as the ride to the hotel, concentrating. Very seldom did anyone with a mind like Velma's ever concentrate on _avoiding _a thought, rather than pursuing one.

_Do not think... do not think about him... do not think about..._

Do not think about Shaggy.

Aaack. There it was again!

Velma unpacked very slowly after reaching the hotel room. She didn't have to leave for the conference for nearly another three hours. She wished she hadn't finished every scrap of work on the plane. Maybe she could turn on the TV for a while...

No, that didn't work. In a way that was painfully miraculous, every channel seemed to be showing one of Shaggy's favorite movies or TV shows.

Maybe she should grab something to eat.

That was even worse. It was very hard for Velma to eat much of anything lately. That was really disturbing, seeing as she was in her second trimester now. Anything she did choke down, it was only for the baby. And she had to distract herself while she was eating. Food of any kind reminded her of Shaggy.

She flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Hotel room ceilings always seemed to have those odd swirling patterns that could serve as a Rorshach test if you watched them long enough. In the past, Velma would have said the swirls looked like elves or tigers or maps of Norway. Now she knew exactly what was on her mind, and the last thing she wanted was to _see_ it. She rolled over and looked at the nightstand instead.

On it sat a phone.

For a surreal moment, Velma felt ecstatic. Somehow, she felt this strange sensation, as though it might be ringing, and she knew who it was, and she could just pick up the receiver and tell him how much she missed him already even though she had only been in Singapore for a few hours.

She shook herself. She was losing it. The phone certainly was not ringing. It certainly was not someone she knew, and she certainly could not tell him anything about how much she missed him. She broke his heart. She couldn't fix it, not after allowing it to sit like this for so long.

She lay there in agony. She had almost three hours to kill, and she couldn't last alone like this for another five minutes.

Maybe she could just call Daphne. Then again... checking her watch Velma realized that in their own time zone Daphne was probably sleeping. Maybe Velma could get some sleep of her own...

Setting the alarm clock next to her bed, Velma drifted off into a turbulent slumber.

-------------------------------------------

A few days later, Velma would have to go up to the podium.

Mr. Harolds had requested that she and MkKay present their research on some genetic modifications that would improve some rare wolf's chances of survival... or something like that. It was funny, really, how even though it was a project she had given herself fully to as of late, outside of the scientific world Velma could not have said what it was. It was her way of fleeing, of escaping reality, to become completely immersed in something that was really dull and uninteresting. The work became so automatic, so instinctive, that Velma became nearly robotic when she occupied herself with it. That felt good, not really having to think...

Velma finished combing her hair and put on the outfit that-- she hoped-- looked the most professional. This was her moment to shine! This was her chance to possibly get her foot in the door to become a widely-recognized scientist! She should be proud...

She felt sick at the sensation that she really didn't care.

When it was time to give her presentation, she and MkKay both rose and made their way to the front of the room. Velma began the presentation.

"In recent years, we have seen a decline in the _Canis himalayaensis _population which--"

The rest of the speech could have been a recording. Velma recited the words perfectly, but she didn't have the slightest clue what she was saying. The audience was clearly captivated, interested, but she didn't really know what part of her speech she was on. It was entirely automatic.

Unfortunately, that opened a space in her head in which her thoughts could wander. And three guesses as to where they could go.

"As sightings of these wolves became rarer and rarer--"

_As sightings of Shaggy became rarer and rarer..._

"Desperate measures had to be taken--"

_Desperate reactions that never should have been given..._

"Hopefully we will soon see an increase in--"

_There _is no _hope that we will ever see any chance of..._

She told herself to snap out of it. Focus. Ignore any other thoughts that might creep into her mind.

It didn't work. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. Right there in front of everybody. And the worst part of all was that they seemed to assume she was crying over the fate of the stupid _species, _which for all she cared right now could live or die or conquer the world and it wouldn't matter.

Afterward, everyone came up to Velma and MkKay and told them what an excellent project they had presented, and what potential this modification had and why the two were geniuses and everything else that didn't matter. Inwardly, Velma wanted to die.

-------------------------------------------

There was a knock on the door of Velma's hotel room. She got up off the bed and answered it.

It was MkKay.

He was of course the last person she wanted to see at the moment, but unfortunately there always was the very real chance that he had come for some work-related reason, possibly to discuss the day's presentation, etcetera. She really was obligated to open the door, like it or not.

"Hey, Velma!" he greeted her, as Velma stepped out into the hall. No way was she going to invite him into her room.

"Hello, _MkKay_," she told him, hoping he would catch the hint that she preferred surnames in the workplace. That never worked, unfortunately.

"I was thinking... we could go down to a bar or--"

"No thanks," she cut him off.

"Aw, why not?"

_Because I would never go anywhere with you, _Velma thought to herself. She gave the most obvious answer, though, and one which she hoped would remind him of their age difference. "I'm underage."

"The drinking age here is only eighteen. You could still go--"

"The answer is still no." Velma had known about the drinking age, but she was hoping MkKay wouldn't. "I'm seeing someone." She couldn't say whether that was true anymore, but it was an answer.

"The guy you broke up with?"

_How _on Earth did MkKay know about that? Velma shuddered, not wanting to know the truth. MkKay continued.

"Because I'm in love with you, Velma, in case you haven't noticed!"

Ick.

He stepped closer to her. She backed away, until her back was touching the wall. "You're all I think about, all I dream about..."

Velma wanted to barf just then. He was _disgusting_.

"That's flattering," she told him, "but--" She tried to slide away from him.

Her grabbed her arm. Hard. And he didn't let go.

Velma wasn't sure what he was doing, what _she _was doing, but she did know she yanked her arm back. She dashed into her room and slammed the door, locking it, just in the nick of time.

Heart racing, she peered out the peephole in the door. MkKay was still out there, pacing... not going away.

Velma felt trapped. Trapped and alone. Cornered by this creep. She didn't know how long he would stay out there-- possibly all night?-- but until he left she couldn't move.

She cried. She had come on this business trip for what purpose? To get away from Shaggy. Why? Shaggy loved her. Shaggy cared about her. He wasn't this strange stalker out in the hallway. What did MkKay want with a pregnant woman, anyhow? Velma willed the question out of her mind.

She thought instead of something else she had willed out of her mind... and found it relieving, rather than painful.

Shaggy was back home. Shaggy hadn't been the one to yell the last time they had ever spoken. Shaggy hadn't been the one who had been so cruel to somebody he loved. That was Velma.

She _had _been cruel to somebody she loved.

To somebody she _loved!_

She did love Shaggy... and only now did she know it for sure. Only now that she could maybe never find the courage to face him again, only now that she didn't even know whether she would ever be able to tell him how sorry she was, did she know how much she loved him. Now he was on the other side of the planet... maybe he had forgotten her by now. She had gone to get as far away from him as possible, and now she would have traded absolutely anything to be back in his arms, completely safe.

Instead she was in Singapore. One of the strictest societies in the developed world. Where crime rates and vandalism were lower than anywhere. Where everyone was supposed to feel safe.

Velma didn't feel safe at all. She looked out the peephole again and was relieved that MkKay had finally disappeared. Even so, she didn't dare venture out of her room again.

She lay on her bed, crying, praying for these two weeks to be over.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22:**

Velma dragged herself across the complex to Shaggy's apartment. She felt a little bit of confusion... everything felt like a dream, a surreal memory from a long time ago. Then again, thanks to the time difference it _had _been a while since she last slept, so for all she knew she could be dreaming now...

But no. Velma kept walking. She didn't care that she was exhausted; she was happy. Happy to be home...

And also worried.

She hadn't called Shaggy the entire time she was gone. Maybe Shaggy didn't even know she _had _been gone. Maybe he wouldn't have cared if he did know. Maybe he had gotten over a jerk like Velma had been already. Actually, "already" was scarcely applicable to the situation; they hadn't seen each other in a month.

She trudged up the steps, anxious. What if Shaggy had gotten over Velma... but not alone? What if he had a new girlfriend... or had gotten back together with an old one? What if she knocked on the door and he answered it and someone else was already with him? That would be so awkward!

Forlornly, Velma imagined Shaggy's living room, all pictures of her torn from the walls and in the trash... forgotten. Then on the couch, on that one extra-soft cushion she and Shaggy always occupied... there he would be, making out with...who?... Googie, maybe?

Velma closed her eyes, trying to suppress the thought, but realizing she would deserve every bit of it if that were really what happened.

--------------------------------------------------

Shaggy was pacing about in his apartment, wondering if Velma was home yet. Mrs. Chong had said "close to two weeks" but she hadn't said _exactly _what date. Maybe she had already been back for a day or two and Shaggy didn't know.

He picked up the stack of mail on the kitchen counter. Not one letter was from Velma. From the content of the other letters he had received for the past two weeks, that didn't surprise him in the least.

So it did surprise him when, staring out the front window, he saw her, making her way up to his front door, her arms across her chest, hugging herself.

And-- miracle of miracles-- she was _knocking on his door!_

Shaggy dashed to get it. He should have been restraining himself more, but he was just too delighted to slow down.

Throwing the door open, he flung his arms around her, holding her tight. "Velma! You're back!"

Then reality flooded back to him. He released her from his embrace. "I... I'm sorry. Really. I never should have--"

"Shaggy... what are _you _apologizing for?"

"I shouldn't have hugged you right there."

"Why... why not?" Velma felt slightly confused. Shaggy didn't seem as though he hadn't _wanted _to hug her; he looked as though he held some sort of moral qualm against it.

"Velma... it's okay. I understand. I held on too tight when you were with me... I never saw that if I loved you I should have given you your freedom..."

No! Velma didn't want to let him let her go just now! Just after she had travelled thousands of miles to be back home with him again.

"...and I want to give you your freedom now. I want you to be happy. And if this is what makes you happy... it's what you should have."

"If _what _makes me happy?"

"Velma... it's all right. I know all about it, you don't have to tell me..."

"Tell you what?"

"About your boyfriend."

Velma jumped back in alarm. "_What_?"

"He wrote me himself, telling me about you two... Velma, really, it's _okay._.."

"Who... who wrote to you about it?" Velma asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

"Judd MkKay."

"_No_!" Velma was horrified beyond belief. Even for a stalker who had waited outside her hotel room-- this was low. Really, really low. "Shaggy... we never..."

"He sent me these photographs." Shaggy held one up. Velma, though frightened to even look, forced herself to take a glimpse.

There she was, in a photograph that had never been taken. A white, sandy beach backdrop framed both her and MkKay, enthusiastically kissing under a palm tree, looking happier than any other couple in history.

"Shaggy... no way... this isn't..."

"Velma... I know that's where you've really been these past two weeks. I know you really wanted to see him. And if you really love him... let him make you happy."

"That's not what I mean at all! The... the _cretin_! Jinkies, Shaggy, isn't it obvious this photograph is totally _doctored_?" She cupped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to make Shaggy sound like an idiot. She remembered perfectly well what had happened the _last _time she allowed panic to overcome her judgement.

Yet an expression of temporary hope, possibly even of _relief_, floated across Shaggy's face. "Really?" he asked, begging for her to be right.

"Yeah..." she told him. Clearly she would have to explain things to him. "First off... this picture couldn't possibly have been taken in the past two weeks. I'm not _showing_ in it..."

Shaggy looked at Velma as she said this. Suddenly she realized it hadn't occurred to him that she was showing _now_. Men could be surprisingly oblivious to things like this. Then again, most of what was showing now had appeared within the last month-- the month in which Shaggy hadn't seen her at all.

Velma continued. "Second... who is more under the tree, me or MkKay?"

"MkKay..."

"Exactly. So why is there a darker shadow cast over me than there is over him? And look at the times on our watches... mine reads 12:34, while his says 10:10. Either one of our watches is broken, or these weren't taken at the same time."

Shaggy nodded. Velma's mystery-solving skills had never been a greater comfort. Velma stared at the picture for a while longer, squinting. Finally she came to a conclusion.

"And Shaggy... here's the clincher... I think I know which picture of me he clipped this from."

"Really? Which one?"

Velma smiled at him. "You should know! You were in it!"

She strolled over to the living room, hoping desperately that maybe the photo still hung over the couch.

It did! That alone made her heart leap.

She held up the fake picture in her hand and performed one final comparison.

"Yep," she concluded. "That's the one."

Shaggy took hold of the picture as well and stared at it... then at the picture on his own wall. Of course! The real photograph was from last Christmas, where she and Shaggy were kissing under the mistletoe... he remembered that kiss, actually. Why hadn't he remembered Velma?

As each held one side of the photograph MkKay had assembled, the anger built up inside both of them-- and an idea occurred in each of their minds at the same time. Shaggy gave a good, hard tug on the left side of the photo, as Velma yanked on the right. It split down the middle, and each proceeded in shredding his or her own piece into confetti.

"Velma... I'm really, really, really sorry..." Shaggy said as they threw the scraps into the waste basket.

"Shaggy... if I hadn't left you none of this would have happened in the first place!"

"Yeah, but... Zoinks, I should have trusted you more!" Had he really been so gullible as to believe this Judd MkKay had actually taken Velma away from him?

Velma sighed. "I can't say I'm any less guilty, trust-wise... I was worried that I would come over here to find you had started dating Googie again or something!"

Shaggie laughed in spite of himself. "Googie?"

Velma realized the humor in that, somehow. "Yeah... Googie..."

Shaggy hugged her again, this time completely confidant that it was the right thing to do. She hugged him back. For the first time in eons, he gently lifted her up and kissed her. She kissed him back, the most passionate kiss since that one last August... no, more passionate, even. Maybe at the time it had been just an automatic reaction of surprise... but whether it was originally that or true love already didn't matter now. _Now, _of course, it had become true love, and now Velma felt completely sure.

They hugged and kissed. They apologized and forgave. They let all their anger and fear and sorrow melt away, and allowed their new hope and renewed love wash back into its place.

Now spring had finally come.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Real short, I think the shortest chapter yet. Sorry. I would like to thank everyone who has left reviews so far. I really appreciate it!

**Chapter 23:**

"Hey Fred, would you mind retrieving Janice from her room?" Daphne asked her husband as she prepared Janice's breakfast of rice cereal and applesauce. She tried to keep any trace of excitement out of her voice, as though this were a simple question of standard family routine. Fortunately, Fred didn't catch any of her enthusiasm, although he did respond with a joke.

"Sure... assuming she still _is _in her room." He made his way up the stairs toward his daughter's bedroom. He pushed open the door and clicked on the light. Daphne never seemed to think the light was necessary after sunrise, but Fred disagreed on a foggy morning such as this one. Who cared that it burned dinosaurs, as Daphne was always arguing?

"Up 'n' at 'em, Janice..." Actually, Janice was already awake and dressed. Daphne must have just left her upstairs while she got her daughter's breakfast.

"Here, Janice, Mommy's got your food downstairs. You've got applesauce today, your favorite..." As he carried his little girl down the stairs, he noticed that she had on a new onesie. It was pale lavender, with golden embroidered cursive lettering on the front.

He read the lettering, curious. It said:

_Big Sister._

He turned, and Daphne was standing right there, no longer able to conceal a grin.

He drew his wife into a hug and kissed her.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: **Sorry I barely wrote anything yesterday. But maybe you should get used to that because I go back to school Monday and while I might have some spare time for a week or two, after a while I won't be able to just update every day. That's too bad, because this summer's been great, just writing off stories as fast as they come to me, but the reality is that if this school year's anything like last year, I might go through stretches where I can't even update every week. I _will _make an effort to finish this, however. I might not even get as much homework as I thought... but I can't make any promises.

**Chapter 24:**

They were together again, but not exactly where they left off.

This was actually a good thing, because where they left off had been a place of uncertainty, a place of fear and suspense.

To Velma, this felt almost like a chance to start over, a chance to redo everything now that the cloud over her head was punctured. It had rained for a while, but now all that was left was a clear blue sky.

She no longer felt afraid to be with Shaggy, now that she was absolutely positive she was in love with him. And now there seemed to be less pressure, anyway. Shaggy wasn't so desperate to talk about marriage. They could just hang out and not have to think about the future or where any of this was headed. Their dates were entirely random-- Shaggy would bring over the table tennis set and they would play in Velma's kitchen; Velma would set up the Scrabble board, and whether Shaggy really was such a poor speller or he was just letting Velma win she never figured out; sometimes they would even look up foreign recipes and prepare them together. The last activity was a favorite because it combined Velma's interest in researching _anything_ with Shaggy's love of cooking and, of course, the consumption of the finished product. This was what they were doing this Saturday morning: experimenting with some Hawaiian pudding called _kulolo._

"So this recipe calls for taro... good luck finding that in any grocery stores around here." Velma put the book down on the counter.

"Like, we'll just use sweet potatoes... it's better than nothing..."

"Then won't it just be sweet potato pudding?"

"Yeah, I guess. Is that good with you?"

"Sure." They rummaged around in the kitchen until they found the necessary dishes and utensils. Despite the clattering of the pots and pans, however, a disturbing silence filled the room. Shaggy looked deeply immersed in thought, and Velma wasn't sure how to ask him what he was thinking. Finally he asked.

"Velma? Like who _is _Judd MkKay? Because you seemed to know him when I showed you that picture..."

"He's a coworker of mine," Velma answered, hoping Shaggy would change the subject. She didn't dare mention that he was her research partner, that she had to deal with him virtually every day she was at work.

"You didn't exactly seem surprised that he would pull something like he did."

"What do you mean?"

"Velma...has he tried anything like that before? Like, this wasn't a one-time, misguided practical joke... was it." The second sentence truly wasn't a question; it was a statement by Shaggy's powerfully intellectual side that didn't come out often. He knew something about how MkKay treated Velma. How much he knew Velma couldn't be sure.

Velma pondered her answer. She didn't really want to reveal everything. Now she just wanted to forget all about MkKay and what happened at the hotel. But that wouldn't be fair to Shaggy, and she knew what kept happening every time she tried to forget anything.

She told him. She wasn't entirely sure how to tell him, and she kept stumbling over her words, but eventually it got out.

Shaggy answered completely honestly. "Velma, you should tell your boss."

Velma hadn't really wanted to hear that answer. "Shaggy, it isn't that simple. Even if I did say something I have no idea what would happen. It's hard to just get somebody fired or even assigned a new partner. They can't afford to just drop someone at an accusation like this. They need people to stay on the team."

Shaggy blurted out, "Is that why you haven't quit by now?"

She was shocked by his question, but she had to admit, that was part of the answer. Trying to give him the rest, she told him, "There's that... but there's also the fact that I've always wanted to make a difference in the scientific community, Shaggy. Here's my chance to do that."

"But what about the workload? You're getting better at managing it, but I can still tell you're drained half the time."

"Shaggy... I'm sorry I spent so much time working before. Really. I'll admit that some of it I probably didn't have to do... but sometimes I would just get so frustrated at things I would bury myself in my books and close out the rest of the world."

"What had you so frustrated? It wasn't _all_ me by any chance... was it?"

Velma considered, then said, "I don't think you were what bothered me at first. I think I only became frustrated with you when I realized that you kept trying to pull me back into the real world... and everything that was wrong with it."

"Like what was wrong, if not me?"

"Ironically... having so much work all the time. It was like on the rare occasions I dared put everything aside and look at the rest of the world, so much would have changed that I felt intimidated at everything I had missed out on, and so I shut everything out again. That was one thing that was wrong. Then there was the fact that we're going to have this baby."

Shaggy put his arm around his girlfriend but didn't say anything. Neither of them minded that his hands were messy. Velma continued.

"I mean, I guess I should be happy and everything. After all, this is my own _child_. But every now and then, I guess I feel like my reputation's completely sunk. Like I need to work to prove myself."

"Like you need the work to feel smart?"

Velma nodded. That was exactly it. She was grateful Shaggy had said it, because what she had never liked about being "the smart one" was that there was no way to voice the problems associated with that. It was an awful situation when the only way to confide one's struggles involved boasting of one's successes. Thus, a lot stayed bottled up inside Velma.

"Because Velma, you are one of the most ingenious people I know. Even if you weren't my girlfriend I would still say that. Because it's completely true. This baby could have happened to anyone. We were just lucky enough for it to be us."

_Lucky, _Velma tried to convince herself.

"But Velma... if you spend so much time behind a desk..." Shaggy's voice drifted uncomfortably. Finally he finished. "Our kid needs a mom. Just don't forget that."

Velma sighed. She didn't like having to bring this up, because it was a necessary evil. "Our kid also needs a living." She stood up straight. "I get a much larger salary now that I'm working with the HTRT. We could afford a better place if I stick with it. We can't raise a kid in these tiny apartments. We need something better."

"Like... you mean we should move in together?" Velma noticed that Shaggy didn't use the "M"-word.

She went with his way of phrasing it. "Yeah. We could probably afford a house... or at least a larger apartment. We should start looking."

Shaggy smiled. "We should."

Things were looking up.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25:**

Velma read the same paragraph about five times before she realized she kept repeating it. Somehow, she didn't remember it at all. She went back and made a sixth attempt.

Jinkies, it was useless. She just couldn't stay focused. Maybe she needed a break.

Except that she taken five breaks in the last hour. At the pace she was going, she might finish around four a.m. She just hoped she could finish it by work tomorrow. Evil Monday mornings...

She checked her watch. 3:20 p.m. Four a.m. was over twelve hours away. She had time...

And she had a lot to do.

Velma stood up and stretched. She needed a distraction of some kind. There was no way she could focus right now anyway.

And there a distraction was. Daphne was knocking on her door.

She ran to open it.

"Hi, Daphne!" she greeted her friend.

"Hi Velma," Daphne greeted back, then paused at the sight of the papers piled up on the table. "Sorry... is this a bad time?" She indicated the forms.

"Oh... don't worry about that. I can't really concentrate right now anyway. My mind is in a completely different universe."

"A universe with Shaggy, by any chance?" Daphne had been amused at Velma's head-over-heels reaction since she and Shaggy made up again. Velma nodded.

"How did you know?"

"Been there, done that," Daphne said, laughing. "Except my universe contained Fred, of course."

"Yeah, I guess you've been through everything before me. I should just look at your life to determine the future."

"Actually, I could probably do that myself, with my own life. History repeats itself."

"You're so poetic!" Velma teased.

"No, I mean history _has _repeated itself." Velma looked over at Daphne inquisitively. Daphne's face shone brightly. "I'm going to have another baby."

"Really? That's great, Daphne..." Velma grinned. "Now we can look fat together!"

Daphne donned a mock offended expression. "Maybe. When did you say yours was due?"

"August sixteenth."

"I guess I'll be showing by then. Mine's due in late December... the twenty-_sixth_. Maybe it'll get here a day early, a Christmas baby!"

"Your kids like showing up on holidays, don't they?" Velma pointed out, referring to Janice's delivery last Thanksgiving.

"Well... after Marie becomes famous, her birthday can be a holiday too."

"We don't know that it's a girl..."

"Yeah... but you never told me what you'll name it if it's a boy."

Velma blushed. "I still haven't decided."

"Well... you'll think of something. Just we've got dibs on the name Daniel, if _ours_ is a boy."

"So naming our kids the same thing is entirely out?"

"What, were you thinking of the name Daniel?"

"No, just wondering."

"Because if you really wanted to name your baby the same thing, it's your right... but don't you think it might get confusing when the gang gets together and there are two kids named Daniel?"

"Relax, Daphne, Shaggy and I weren't even considering Daniel as a name." She thought for a moment. " 'When the gang gets together'-- that's a nice thought."

Daphne sighed happily. "Just wait and see. Our kids will be the best of friends. I wonder if the Mystery Machine will still work by the time they're old enough to drive it..."

"Hang on. You're not saying they'll go getting themselves lost in haunted houses as soon as they get the opportunity!"

"Why not? That's what we did."

Velma contemplated this, then said, "Well... I suppose it's one of the more harmless risks they could take as teenagers, all things considered."

Daphne nodded. "And they'll be better equipped. Odds are there will be more of them, and at least one of them will have superpowers..."

"You never know. Maybe all of them will."

Daphne's mixed feelings on that topic showed in her face, and Velma felt just a little bit of the same nervousness: Genetic modifications, particularly accidental ones, were not always positive; these children could be normal, gifted, or harmed, and neither Velma nor Daphne had any say in the matter. Plus there was the issue of, if Daphne's children had these abilities and Velma's did not, Velma's children wouldn't be allowed to know about Daphne's. At least, they couldn't know about the _abilities_ of the Jones kids. Or the Jones _kid_, if Janice were the only one with powers.

Then Daphne's fear gave way to cheerfulness, and she envisioned, "I can just see it ten or so years from now. We'll be having a barbecue or something, and our kids will all be playing capture-the-flag or kickball, and someone will get into a fight over fair use of powers. Then they'll ask one of our husbands to referee, and--" She bit her tongue. Jeepers, she could be stupid at times. "Sorry," she apologized. "I forgot you and Shaggy--"

"It's all right," Velma said, dismissing Daphne's slip. Her friend hadn't meant to be insensitive. "Hey, it's just good to know that's still possible."

"So you still haven't made up your mind?"

Velma was silent for a moment. "Actually..." she confided. "I think I have."

"Have you told Shaggy yet?"

"It's kind of complicated..." Velma swallowed. "I guess I just feel kind of like I blew my chance. Like Shaggy deserves someone who wouldn't have left him."

"Don't sell yourself short, Velma. At any rate, even if he didn't deserve you, you're what he wants, regardless. And since you want him too, why should you deprive someone you love of someone he loves?"

Another thought crept through Velma's mind. "But... what if I scared him last time? What if he never asks me again?"

"You could always ask _him_..."

Velma shook her head. "I'd embarrass him. It would look like I was saying he didn't have the initiative to ask me himself."

"Well... what do you want?"

"To marry him!"

"Then that will happen, sooner or later. You can always drop hints, or just bring it up as a discussion without proposing. And Shaggy _does _have initiative... who kissed whom in the first place?"

Velma pondered this. Finally she said, "Thanks, Daphne. You're a great friend."

------------------------------------------

Those who favored Daphne's idea would have called it being a true friend. Those who at least thought it was cute would have called it playing cupid. Those who disliked her idea would have said it was plain old gossip, and those who were outright opposed to the whole thing would have called it meddling.

But was meddling not Mystery Inc.'s trademark?

As soon as Daphne got home, she found Fred and talked to him.

"Freddie... you should call Shaggy tonight."

"Why?"

"Because this would probably be better as a man-to-man discussion." _And, _thought Daphne to herself, _I would probably start giggling in the middle of the whole thing._

"Okay..." Fred sounded curious. Daphne looked him in the eye.

"Tell him Velma wants to marry him."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: **Okay. I've really wanted to write this chapter for a while. I don't know why I like it so much, other than maybe that Scrabble is one of my favorite games. If you don't know how to play, you might want to look up the rules on Wikipedia or something... otherwise I'm not sure how much sense this chapter will make, but it's an important chapter so you can't really skip it. What's funny is I had to dig through the bag of my own set to figure out the point values for some of these letters, LOL. Only to clarify, Shaggy and Velma play a little differently from what most would consider traditional. They play the version my friends and I do, where one is allowed to put down as many different words as can be made with his or her set of tiles per turn. The game always went faster that way.

**Chapter 26:**

Velma carried the last box inside and breathed a sigh of contentment.

Home. At last.

She was rather amazed at how quickly she and Shaggy were able to find a place of their own, and at how quickly they could move in. They had only even so much as begun the search for a home a month ago. Now it was early June.

"Here, Velma... you shouldn't have to carry that..." Shaggy told her, taking the box and bringing it into the kitchen. The kitchen was one of the points that had endeared Shaggy to the domicile; it was nearly five times the size of the tiny one in his old apartment, with two ovens, two refrigerators plus an extra freezer, and a large walk-in pantry.

Velma had humored him on the kitchen; she herself liked the house for other reasons. Number one, of course, was that it was surprisingly affordable; Velma supposed this was due to its proximity to a somewhat noisy (but tolerably so) highway as well as its desperate need of new carpet, paint, and wallpaper. Velma didn't mind; this simply meant the couple could choose new colors for every room in the house. Plus, the house was in an excellent school district-- a point on which Velma had been very firm, even more so than Shaggy was on the kitchen.

Scooby began unpacking things with extreme haste. Velma smiled at the realization that moving in with Shaggy also meant moving in with his dog. Ah, well. She had recently read an article about the developmental benefits children received from growing up around animals. Perhaps a talking one at that provided something extra-- as long as the child didn't receive _speech _lessons from Scooby he or she would be fine.

Velma opened another box. Her collection of _Discover _issues were piled high inside. Okay... these could go in the basement. She headed toward the little door next to the kitchen that led to the stairs.

"Let me carry those down, Velma," Shaggy told her. Velma blushed. There was a time when his insistence would have offended her... but those days were over. Besides... as far along as she was it probably _was_ better not to overdo it.

"Sure, Shaggy," she responded. He dashed down with the box and came back up within seconds.

"Anything else you think should go down there?" he asked.

"Well... there's this microscope of mine..." Velma told him, pulling out a small black box. "But I can take this myself, it's pretty light..." She strolled downstairs and set it down on a shelf down there. She came back up.

"And I guess that's it for the basement... at least for now."

"Good," Shaggy said, strolling down the hall of the one-story house. He came to one of the three bedrooms, all of which were empty.

"I was thinking..." he said. "This would probably be a good room for the baby. There's that nice big window, and it's right next to the master bedroom. We'll need to find some furniture for it, of course..."

"Of course," Velma agreed.

"So like, what's your gut telling you? Blue or pink? Or there's always gamble-free yellow..."

"Actually... how about black and white?"

"Black and white?"

"Sure. It helps babies' eyes to focus. We can do different patterns on each wall... like we can do polka dots over here... and checkerboard over there... zigzags for the ceiling..."

"Interesting..." Shaggy muttered. Then he shrugged. "Oh, why not? But can we add just a little bit of red, so the baby will have _some _color?"

"Black and white and red all over," Velma mused, then burst out laughing. "Yeah... that sounds good."

Shaggy hugged his girlfriend. "I think we should take a break from unpacking. We've done a lot for one morning."

Velma nodded in agreement. "Let's grab some sandwiches and chips and have lunch." They went into the kitchen, which Shaggy had stocked first thing when they arrived, and Shaggy dug out the ingredients for a submarine for each of them. Velma had been eating for two as of late, and while nobody other than Scooby could ever possibly match an appetite like Shaggy's, she felt like the surest sign that the baby would take after Shaggy must be that Velma's hunger was getting there. Thus, the enormous Dagwood that Shaggy assembled for her was consumed in its entirety within five minutes of his handing it to her. What still amazed her was that Shaggy and Scooby each consumed three sandwiches in that stretch of time.

_They must have been born with hollow legs, _she told herself amusedly. She tried not to laugh out loud.

After they finished lunch, Shaggy asked Velma, "Like... do we have to get back to work right away? Could we play a round of Scrabble before we start unpacking again?"

"Is the game board unpacked?"

Shaggy quickly reached into a box behind him and withdrew the game. "Is now."

"Okay, then." Velma was impressed at Shaggy's eagerness to play; usually their Scrabble games were _Velma's_ idea. She picked up a pencil, a dictionary, and a scrap of paper and the game was commenced.

-------------------------------------------

"Aw... seventy-eight points on a five-letter word?" Shaggy asked, looking down at the tiles Velma had just played.

Velma nodded. "_Qualm. _The _Q _is on a double-letter score, so it's worth twenty instead of ten. Then the _U_, the _A_, and the _L _are worth a point each. The _M _is worth three points, bringing it up to twenty-six..."

"And you got the triple word score."

"And I got the triple word score." Velma beamed.

"That'll be hard to beat..." Shaggy muttered, looking down at his own tiles as Velma drew replacements for the ones she had played. Finally he began placing them down on the board, and Velma wrote down the point values as he formed the words.

He put a _W _in front of the word _ill _Velma had formed two turns ago. _W_... four points... plus _ill _had been worth three... seven points.

He set an _O _between the words _shipyard _and _intrude_, which dangled beside each other vertically on the board with just one square between them... _Y _was four points... _O _was one point... _U _was one point... six points.

He stuck an _M-A-R _above the _R _in _adventure_, and a _Y _below it. Nice one. With the _M _on a triple letter score, the word was worth sixteen points.

Finally, he slipped an _E _after the _M _he had just played. Ten--

Suddenly, Velma stopped short.

_W-I-L-L... Y-O-U... M-A-R-R-Y... M-E..._

Then he randomly placed a blank tile down in the middle of the board. The blank tile... something unknown... a question mark.

Velma put her pencil down. She forgot all about keeping score. How could numbers ever express how either of them felt at a time like this? Shaggy was lucky like that... it never occurred to him to think in terms of math. Velma, on the other hand, wanted a perfect equation to explain everything. But you could ruin a lot of truly great moments in life and history by having to make them _logical_.

Shaggy was grinning across the table, reading the expression on Velma's face. "So... what's the score?" he said, obviously not thinking about the points at all.

Velma walked around the table and hugged him tightly.

"You win," she told him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27:**

The first night.

It wasn't exactly a very neat arrangement in the master bedroom-- the bed was made and the dressers had been moved in, but that was it for permanent pieces of furniture. Everything else was thrown hapharzardly about in random boxes and bags. They weren't really sure that it was even going to all stay in the room. They might clear the room later and repaint it. It didn't need paint as badly as the rest of the house, but neither of them really liked the depressing shade of grayish-blue that was just a hair too dark for their tastes.

Still, the depressing color could not dampen their spirits as they settled into bed, pleased that they were in their own house... their own room... their own bed. Nights together from here on out would be the norm rather than the exception. Few things are as exciting as a beginning.

Shaggy reached out and stroked Velma's hair. She smiled securely. Then Shaggy sat up slightly, and Velma knew he wanted to talk for a while.

"So... um... Velma..."

"Yes?"

He looked kind of embarrassed. "I... er... forgot to give you this while we were playing Scrabble." He reached into his pocket. "Actually, I think you know I meant to give it to you months ago..."

"Let's not revisit that." Velma was pretty sure she knew what it was he was going to give her, but somehow that didn't impede her delight in the slightest when she saw that she was correct.

"It's beautiful," she told him, slipping the ring onto her finger.

"I... thought you might like it," he said. Then he asked, "So like, when did you want to have the wedding anyway?"

Velma inhaled sharply. She knew what the answer was, but expressing it felt like a complex, indecipherable equation.

Finally she spoke. "Well... if I hadn't reacted... the way I did... we probably could have been married by now."

"But was that what you wanted?"

"Kind of." Velma fidgeted under the sheets. "But obviously, that didn't happen."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't you be sorry, it only makes me feel sorrier. It's just... I'm tired of putting things off because I'm not sure how they'll turn out. Especially when they turn out to be things I wanted all along."

"So what are you saying?"

This was the hard part. "I'm saying I don't want a big wedding, Shaggy. I just want to be married as soon as possible. I'm saying... we should do it soon. As soon as we can."

Very seldom was Velma impulsive about anything. Yet here, Shaggy could see how she made sense. "So define 'as soon as we can'."

"Well... obviously we need to notify Fred and Daphne and Scooby. They _need_ to be there, they've done so much for us..."

"Yeah," Shaggy agreed. He had confessed to Velma already that Fred had told him what Velma told Daphne. It was slightly embarrassing... but otherwise they probably wouldn't be engaged at all at this point. They really owed a lot to their friends.

"And we'll have to tell our parents as well. We don't want to elope; we just want to get this over with."

Shaggy nodded in agreement. "Okay. So when should we have it?"

Velma paused. "I don't think anyone's doing anything next Saturday. How about then?"

"Okay..." He seemed to have an idea. "Yeah, like I had this roommate in college, his name was Viktor... he was going to be a minister after he graduated. He lives like two hours from here... I wonder if he'll be busy. Maybe he could just marry us at his house."

"He won't mind--?"

"Knowing him, I think he'll be okay with the whole baby thing," Shaggy reassured his fiancee. "It's either that or the courthouse... what do you think?"

"My parents would probably want us married by a minister," Velma told him. Besides, there was something stuffy and formal and impersonal she didn't like about the Coolsville Courthouse. Shaggy seemed to understand.

"All right then." He fell back against the pillow and turned to face Velma, who faced him even though her lack of glasses made him impossible to see. Yawning, he confirmed the plan. "Then that's what we'll do."

----------------------------------------------

Even for such a small-scale wedding, arrangements had to be made. At least they were going pretty well... at first.

The first thing they did the next afternoon was to call Fred and Daphne, who weren't doing anything that day and were profoundly excited at the invitation. Unfortunately, because other arrangements had yet to be made, they couldn't fill their friends in on many details, but they promised to call them back with more information. It was important to make sure their friends could come before deciding on the rest.

Then they called Viktor-- now known as Reverend Merlone in formal situations-- who was pleased to hear from one of his college friends and ecstatic at the honor of holding the wedding at his house. He told them Saturday was a clear date on his calendar and arranged a time that worked for everyone. It was good to at least now know for a fact where and when they would be getting married.

Now Velma needed to call her parents. Her mother answered the phone.

"Hi, Mom," Velma greeted her.

"Hi, Velma. It's been a while since you called."

"I know, Mom." Here came the big news. "Mom-- you remember Shaggy Rogers?"

"Why... yes I do..."

"We're getting married." There. The anvil had fallen.

She could tell that was a big surprise to the woman who honestly hadn't known her daughter ever showed any romantic interest in Shaggy. Even so, Mrs. Dinkley exclaimed, "Congratulations, honey! Have you set a date yet?"

"Um... actually we have. It's this Saturday. Can you make it?"

She could feel her mother's disappointment at the news, and couldn't really blame her. Velma was, after all, Mrs. Dinkley's only daughter. She somehow knew that her mother had secretly always envisioned planning the ultimate, bridezilla, lots-of-bows-and-flowers, honeymoon-in-Paris kind of wedding. Not just some quick gathering that was just enough to make everything official. Even so, selfish as she felt about it, Velma knew that this was her wedding, not her mother's. Besides... she didn't honestly care about the wedding. She cared about being married, and there was a huge difference.

"So can you make it?" Velma asked again.

"I... yes, your father and I will be there," Mrs. Dinkley told her daughter. "What time is it, and where--?"

Velma gave her mother the time and place. She really did feel kind of bad that her mother wouldn't get to plan the extravaganza she had in mind, but she willed herself not to feel too guilty. Then, after hanging up, she gave the phone to Shaggy to call his family. She then slipped into the living room to catch up on some work while he was talking.

She put everything down once she heard the receiver click. She walked back into the kitchen where the phone was.

"Great," she told him. "Now that our families are coming, we can--"

"Um... actually..." Shaggy started, "my family isn't coming."

"What?" Velma asked, worried that her assumption that there were had come across as insensitive.

"They were actually about to leave when I called. They can't make it."

"Leave where?"

"Well... Mom and Pops said _they_ were about to board a plane to Europe, and Sugey had to catch the bus to summer camp."

"And you didn't know about any of this?"

"Well... I don't call home much," Shaggy admitted.

"We can still make other arrangements. How long are they going to be gone? Maybe we can have the wedding a week or two later..."

Shaggy shook his head. "Mom's teaching some class at some university near Madrid. They'll be there all summer."

"All _summer_? Boy, you _really _need to talk with your parents more!"

Shaggy shrugged. "She said it was pretty last-minute, taking on the class..."

Velma and Shaggy sat down simultaneously. Velma continued. "Well... we could always get married after they get back..."

"They won't be back until early September, though."

"And by then the baby will be born." Although that wasn't their motivation for getting married, it would have been nice to be married before then. "But Shaggy-- I'm not going to ask you to have your wedding without your own _parents_!"

Shaggy fiddled with a pencil that was lying on the kitchen table. "The thing is though, Velma, I don't really want to wait any longer than you do. I know that sounds completely reckless, but I actually think my parents understand. I might not tell them everything, and as you can see they certainly don't tell _me _everything... but I told them how much I loved you. And they told me... they told me to go ahead. They told me what matters to them is that I'm happy. And marrying you would make me happier than anything."

Velma hugged him. Shaggy was willing to do so much for her. She hoped desperately that things would be as okay with the Rogers family as Shaggy made them sound.

----------------------------------------------

That evening, someone knocked on the front door of their house. Shaggy and Velma ran to get it. They had no idea who it was-- they were pretty sure Fred and Daphne had other plans for the evening, and not a whole lot of other people were likely to drop by without calling first.

Shaggy swung open the door.

His jaw dropped open. There stood--

"_Sugey_?" Shaggy asked, shocked.

"Hi, Shaggy!" his little sister greeted him cheerfully. "I'm coming to your wedding!"

"Really?" Had the family put aside their entire summer plans at the last minute like this?

"Yup!" she exclaimed.

"So like, where are Mom and Pops?"

Sugey paused. She looked around nervously for a moment, as though someone were spying on her or something. Then she spoke in a hushed tone.

"They don't know I'm here."

It was then that Shaggy noticed the duffel bag in her hand.

**A/N: **Okay... aparently there is some discontinuity in the show as to how much younger Shaggy's little sister is. I've decided to go with the way ages worked in _A Pup Named Scooby Doo_, where I'm guessing the difference could have been nine or ten years. For this reason, I've decided to refer to her by her nickname, Sugey, instead of Maggie. Maybe these weren't actually intended to be the same character in the cartoon, so I'm going to play it safe. Ignore any canon references in which Shaggy and Maggie are both adults, okay? Sugey is _**thirteen**_ here. Just clarifying.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28:**

The brother and sister stared at each other for maybe five minutes, not speaking. Velma just stared from one to the other. Finally Shaggy spoke, trying to be the responsible older brother.

"Sugey-- we need to call Mom and Pops and let them know you're here!"

"We can't," Sugey told him happily.

"Why not?"

"Because," the girl told him, looking at her watch, "their plane just left an hour ago. They won't answer the phone."

"Do you know what their phone number in Europe is going to be?" Velma asked, trying to help sort all this out.

"No," Sugey answered. Whether this was just plain irresponsibility or Sugey intended it that way, neither Shaggy nor Velma could determine.

"Okay... so what about when the camp you were supposed to be at calls and tells them you're not there? Surely they would have given the camp their number for emergencies. How are we going to let Mom and Pops know you're all right?"

"The camp won't know I'm not there," Sugey said proudly. "Shannon is filling in for me."

Velma and Shaggy looked at each other. Together, they asked, "Who's Shannon?"

"A friend from school. She's always _wanted_ to go to camp, but her family never has the money. So she's going instead of me, and if anyone at camp asks, she's Sugey Rogers."

"And her parents approved of all this?" Velma asked, skeptical that any parents would be so open-minded to the prospect of their daughter suddenly packing up and going away for the entire summer on the whim of a few hours.

"Kinda..." Sugey started digging into the floor with her left sneaker. She looked down for just a minute. Then she stood up straight and explained it. "Shannon's parents are divorced. She told her mom she was spending the summer with her dad, and she told her dad she was spending the summer with her mom. They never talk to each other except through Shannon, so she can tell them whatever she wants."

Shaggy had to admit, this was a pretty well-crafted scheme for what two thirteen-year-old girls had come up with in a couple hours. Even so...

"So let me get this straight," he told his sister, "Mom and Pops are on a plane to Madrid, and you don't know how to call them and tell them where you are."

"Yes," Sugey told him, quite without concern.

"And you ducked out of camp, while your friend is going instead of you and her parents don't know either," Velma added.

"Right," she answered.

Shaggy swallowed, feeling a premonition of the next item of discussion. "And you need a place to stay now that Mom and Pops have flown off."

Sugey gripped the duffel bag she carried in her hand. "I do."

"Okay... I guess you're staying with us." Velma said, realizing it was their only option. She saw Shaggy cover his face with his hand, dreading that either of them would say that. This was incredibly spontaneous.

Trying to offer reasonable hospitality, Shaggy offerred his sister some dinner. He and Velma had already eaten, but he found some leftovers and slid them into the microwave. While Sugey devoured the spaghetti, meatballs, and lima beans, Shaggy and Velma slid into their room for a discussion.

"Okay. That was random," Velma told her fiance.

"Yeah. Totally. Like, what on Earth is Sugey up to?"

"I have a few theories. Mostly, this could be just the first signs of your little sister's desire to express her independence as an individual and make her own decisions."

"Meaning--?"

"Meaning she felt like doing something specifically because it goes against what everyone else told her to do. It's like teenage rebellion."

"Well, then what's next? Drugs, alcohol--?" Shaggy didn't like the thought of his little sister becoming a delinquint or something.

Velma smiled. "Don't worry about that, Shaggy. This kind is more normal and harmless. Actually... I think it's kind of cute."

" 'Cute'? How are we going to tell Mom and Pops? We can't just leave them in the dark about where their daughter is!"

Velma frowned. "We'll have to find a way of telling them, I guess. But I'll bet odds are ten to one she never unpacked her duffel when she decided to come here instead of going to camp. I'll bet she's got their address in there, somewhere. What kind of kid goes off to camp without bringing the materials to write home?"

"So we search her stuff?"

Velma shook her head. "We have to respect your sister's privacy. If she feels she can't trust us, she might try a bolder move than this one. But maybe in a few days, if we bring it up casually, she'll let us see the address. Or we might be lucky and she'll leave it lying around the house."

The phone was ringing. Shaggy left to get it.

--------------------------------------

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hello, Shaggy! It's Pops," his father told him.

"Like hi, Pops! Sugey said you guys were on a plane right now!"

"Well, our flight was delayed two hours, and I just wanted--" Mr. Rogers stopped, realizing what his son had just told him. "How did Sugey tell you that?"

Shaggy groaned but told him what Sugey had done, what she had said. When he had finished, he could sense his father at the other end of the line, wrestling with some of the same questions Shaggy and Velma had been asking themselves. Finally, though, Mr. Rogers came to a conclusion.

"Well... looks like she's all yours."

"Pops--?"

"Your mother and I have to be on the plane in about twenty minutes. I don't know why Sugey decided to skip camp and go to your place, but I'm completely powerless to do anything about it." He stopped talking for a minute, then changed his harried tone to an apologetic one. "Look, I'm really sorry we have to do this to you and Velma, but it looks like she's in for a summer at your place."

"But--"

"Believe me, she _will_ be punished as soon as we get back. But that's not to say she doesn't have to abide by _your _rules as long as she's at _your _house. Give her chores... and tell her we love her."

"Er... right," Shaggy responded. They ended the conversation and he hung up. Velma entered and asked him about it.

"Well," Shaggy told her, turning to face her, "looks like we've got her for the next few months."

--------------------------------------

They walked back to where Sugey was just finishing off her dinner and rinsing the plate in the sink. Shaggy made the announcement.

"Okay. You're staying with us."

Sugey turned and hugged her brother and sister-in-law-to-be. "Thanks bunches!"

"I guess you'll be staying in that one extra bedroom..." Shaggy led Sugey down the hall and into an empty room. He found a cot and set it up for her. "I hope that will do for now..."

"It will," Sugey reassurred him.

Shaggy tried to look as serious as he could. "You understand what you've done... don't you?"

"Yeah..." Sugey still held that confidant posture, but Shaggy knew that she felt some of his seriousness leaking over to her.

"You've completely ditched your entire summer at the last minute."

Sugey surely knew of his sternness _now_.

"May I ask _why_?"

Sugey spent a while trying to fabricate her answer. "I didn't want to go to camp."

"Why not?"

Sugey paused. "Well... they signed me up for camp at the last minute. I wanted to go to science camp or baseball camp or nature camp... but they were all full. So Mom and Pops signed me up for _cheerleading _camp." Sugey made a face. "The only reason I went along with it is because we share a mess hall and everything with this boys' football camp. It's pretty sexist, I know, that they don't let the girls play football or anything... but my friend Max was going to the football camp and I thought maybe he could put in a good word for me to at least let me play with them during free time. He promised he would. Then he bailed on me."

"He bailed on you?"

"Yeah." Sugey looked really uncomfortable for some reason. "I was really thinking about cancelling ages ago, the moment I found out he wouldn't be at camp. But I decided not to do anything irrational, be a good girl, blah blah blah..." Sugey made little talking motions with her hands. "Then I found out you were getting married."

Shaggy looked at his little sister. "You wanted to come to the wedding?'

"Of course I wanted to come to the wedding! It would beat being stuck at some camp I didn't want to go to... and that would fill up my entire summer until the day before school starts! Besides... I wanted to see my nephew when he was born!"

Shaggy hadn't thought of that, but she was right. He hadn't even known Sugey noticed Velma was pregnant. Sure, she was pretty large, but somehow Shaggy himself only noticed when he really thought about it. Must have been a guy thing.

When he didn't respond, Sugey exclaimed, "At least... I _assumed _that was your baby!"

"Sugey!"

"Well... is it?"

"_Yes_, Sugey, it is!" Kids sure said the darnedest things.

"Good. Because I've always wanted to be an aunt. A step-aunt would be okay too, though..."

"Sugey, you're going to be a real aunt!"

"Great! I'll have a nephew."

Shaggy frowned. "What makes you so sure it'll be a nephew?"

Sugey shrugged. "I just know. Hey... what am I supposed to wear to the wedding?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Casual. Completely casual. Even the minister won't be dressed up."

"That's good, 'cuz all I brought with me are these T-shirts for camp."

Shaggy laughed. It was good having his sister around, somehow. It certainly made life more interesting.

"Good-night, Sugey," he told her as he left the room.

"Good-night, Shaggy."

Shaggy turned back around, then said, "And Sugey...?"

"Yes?"

He tried not to sound too sentimental. "Thanks a lot, Sis."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29:**

Every woman's nature is to imagine her wedding day, from the moment she learns what a wedding is. Of course, Velma's wedding didn't quite go like she always imagined.

For starters, she was pregnant.

This wasn't like she imagined.

Then there was the fact that she was dressed in an ordinary orange tank top, and Shaggy wore his standard green T-shirt.

This wasn't like she imagined.

And rather than standing at the alter in front of dozens and dozens of people in a church decorated with thousands of flowers, she would be married in a minister's living room, with a total of seven guests not counting the minister.

This wasn't like she imagined.

"Ready to go?"

Velma turned around, having just finished brushing her hair. There stood Shaggy, recently showered but still dressed like the lovable slob he always would be.

Velma nodded in response to his question. They began walking out of the bedroom, hand in hand.

Sugey bounded out of her room. "_I'm_ ready to go!" she exclaimed eagerly.

Shaggy nodded. "Just go on out to the car. We'll be out in a few minutes."

"Oh... _right_..." Sugey giggled knowingly and practically skipped out the door, motioning for Scooby to follow her.

Shaggy turned to Velma and kissed her tenderly. Their lips felt super-glued together, neither wanting to break away despite their being late for their own wedding.

"I love you, Velma."

"I love you, Shaggy."

_This _was better than she _ever_ could have imagined.

----------------------------------------

Daphne, Freddie, and Janice were already at Reverend Merlone's when Shaggy, Velma, Sugey, and Scooby arrived.

They knew bringing Janice along was taking a huge risk-- anything could happen. No incidents had occurred in the past week or so... but you never knew. But if anything did happen... surely the people who were there could keep a secret. After all, if you couldn't trust a minister, whom could you trust? Sugey was a bit more of a risk, but after being relatively let off the hook for skipping camp she might be more likely to understand the necessity of some secrets. Mr. and Mrs. Dinkley, despite being the oldest people there, were probably the greatest threat, seeing as they were the easiest to freak out. But even they could probably be coaxed into silence. And all this was assuming anything _did _happen during the wedding.

Daphne willed herself to stop worrying and to just enjoy her friends' big day. Velma, meanwhile, felt a wave of appreciation that her friends were still willing to bring their daughter along. Even though Janice would probably never remember anything of the wedding, it was important, somehow.

Shortly after the arrival of the Dinkleys, Reverend Merlone began the ceremony.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of--"

The whole time, Velma and Shaggy felt their eyes lock into each other's, the knowledge creeping between them: Both knew that years of anticipation were now over. Both knew that Shaggy had been in love with Velma since they were children... and that somewhere in Velma's subconscience, she knew she had loved him that long too.

Today, however, things would be official. Today the whole world would know of their love, despite the minute gathering that sat in this living room right now. Today everything would be different... because everyone would _know_ that things were just as they had always been.

Pondering all this made the wedding seem to fly by too fast. The next thing they knew, Reverend Merlone was asking Shaggy, "Do you, Norville... okay, 'Shaggy'... Rogers" (one had to admit it felt awkward to address one's college friend by a first name he never used) "take Velma Dinkley to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Anyone else on the planet would have given the traditional "I do." Anyone. But the way Velma knew for sure that Shaggy meant it was that he completely forgot about one of our most standard customs.

"Yep!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. Everyone in the room, even Janice, giggled at that.

Grinning, Reverend Merlone turned to Velma and asked if she took Shaggy as her husband.

Adopting his approach, she answered, "Of course."

The strongest knot had been tied.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30:**

Velma slipped out from under the covers and stretched. She peered at the clock. Five a.m., Monday morning. Back to reality.

She checked to make sure she hadn't awakened her new husband this early. No, Shaggy was still peacefully asleep. From his smile Velma was almost certain he was dreaming. She smiled herself and leaned over him, kissing him gently.

She wandered over to the closet and pulled out an outfit. She changed quickly, then kissed Shaggy once more before leaving the room.

She entered the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast and her sack lunch before going to work. Any other couple would probably be on their honeymoon right now... but just being with Shaggy and knowing that they really would be together in sickness and in health, for their entire lives, was enough of a honeymoon for Velma.

"Mornin', Velma!"

Velma whirled over to where the voice had come from. Sugey was sitting at the table, reading the comics and eating a bowl of some sugery, chocolatey cereal with marshmallows. That was too much for this early in the morning, Velma thought. She cut two bagels into four halves and added cream cheese.

"You're up early," Velma told Sugey as she poured herself a glass of milk.

"So are you. We can just be the morning person club, I guess!"

"But I _had _to get up early."

"Define 'had to.' My show comes on in half an hour and I didn't want to miss it." Sugey grinned.

"I meant 'had to' as in for work."

"Oh." Sugey for some reason sprinkled extra sugar on this already loaded concoction. She licked her spoon, then added, "That's boring."

"That's the real world," Velma told her sister-in-law.

"That's boring too," Sugey answered, now done with the powdered sugar and starting to add brown sugar. A dentist's worst nightmare. "So why isn't Shaggy up right now?"

"His job doesn't need him this early." Velma hoped Sugey wouldn't ask any more questions career-wise. She didn't like lying to her new sister, but she would have to if Sugey asked what her job was.

"Don't you guys work at the same place?"

"Yes, but different jobs. I've got a meeting that I should leave for ASAP."

"You get a lot more work than Shaggy, you know that?"

"Yeah... I do..." Velma told her, praying that she didn't sound too nervous. "But I kind of have to take on a lot. I'll be going on maternity leave before too long and I need to get as much done as I can before then."

"Oh... right. But Shaggy says you've been pretty busy for a while."

"He worries too much." Velma shrugged.

"And Daphne and Freddie and Scooby--"

"Hang on a moment," Velma stopped her. "Shaggy I can understand... I mean, he's your brother. And I guess you've probably run into Scooby around the house. But how well do you even know the rest of Mystery Inc.?"

"You guys used to all come over to our place, remember? And I've gotta talk to _someone _around here or I'll go nuts. All my friends are at camp, or on vacation, or in summer school."

"Well... what about the kid you mentioned had decided not to go to camp at the last minute... hold on... you said his name was..."

"Max." Sugey's tone had shifted entirely all of a sudden. She didn't say it as quickly, or as loudly, as she said everything else. It was solemn. She blinked and held her eyelids shut for just a second longer than most people do when they blink.

"Er... yeah. Him," Velma said uncertainly.

"He... had other plans for the summer," Sugey told her. Velma felt an odd sensation that her sister might be lying... but why? It was an innocent, everyday question of what kids did with three months off from school... boy, those were the days.

Velma looked at her watch. "Jinkies... I'm late!" she exclaimed. She jumped up and grabbed the lunch she had packed the night before from the fridge. She tossed in a couple extra gingerbread cookies-- those had become a craving as of late and Shaggy didn't seem to mind making them even though Christmas was six months away. He was sweeter than the cookies.

She scampered out the door.

------------------------------------------------------

"Hey... you're actually finished on time today!" Daphne joked as she saw Velma fasten her maroon tote-- a sure sign she wouldn't be pulling anything out of it for a while.

"It's miraculous I got to leave this early... especially considering I had to fill out a bunch of forms explaining that at the last minute my surname is now Rogers. Mr. Harolds wasn't real happy about it, to be honest." Velma tried to laugh this off, but the truth was she felt more ashamed than she let on. She wasn't regretful in the least that she had married Shaggy... but it had been spontaneous. Unprofessional. Between that, her age, and the pregnancy, she wondered how many more strikes she could handle before the HTRT would have second thoughts about accepting her in the first place.

"So... you wanna swing by the mall or something this afternoon?"

Velma considered this offer. She actually didn't have as much to take home as she had expected... but it was still the typical pile and she was feeling somewhat tired. Even so, with the exception of her wedding she hadn't really talked much to Daphne lately and it would be good to catch up.

"Sure," she finally decided, "but I'd like to run home first, I left my--"

Velma stopped talking. She turned left instead of right, the direction she normally went when she was leaving the building. Sure, all roads led to Rome in a building like this, but the left-turn route was a bit of a longer walk through hallways which were over-air-conditioned. Shrugging and shivering, Daphne followed her, though curious as to why. Daphne was about to ask when she noticed, just before turning the corner, the figure of Judd MkKay coming from the other direction.

She knew better than to ask now.

What was strange was that Velma sensed her friend really wanted to ask. In some ways she was grateful and in others she was disappointed. But then, how would Velma answer if Daphne did ask? Beyond the incident in Singapore, MkKay had not actually _done _anything. Yet there was something about the way he talked, the way he pretended nothing had happened back there. How could Velma explain how he still made those strange comments, how she didn't dare close the door to their lab, how she felt that he would only be worse now that she and Shaggy had tied the knot?

She inhaled deeply and tried to clear her head. MkKay didn't matter now. Maybe at some point they would each be reassigned to new partners. But _that didn't matter now!_

Velma looked over at her friend. Daphne smiled assuringly. She had a way of comforting people without saying a word. Velma was really looking forward to that shopping trip.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31:**

"Where're you going, Velma? You just got back from work!"

Sugey peered over her comic book at Velma, who despite having been home for only twenty minutes was putting on her shoes and applying sunscreen. Clearly she wasn't going to be home for much longer.

"Daphne and I are going shopping."

"Can I come?"

Velma paused halfway through rubbing the sunscreen onto her arm. She hadn't asked Daphne... but Daphne in all likelihood wouldn't mind Sugey tagging along. "Sure," Velma told her sister-in-law, passing the sunscreen over.

Sugey took a tiny dot and rubbed it onto her ears. "I don't burn easily," she explained, "and anyway, we'll be inside a lot, won't we?"

Velma, whose numerous freckles proved she was not intended to tan, and who always applied sunscreen before going outdoors, took the bottle back. She could probably have offered some responsible-adult, you-can-never-be-too-careful-about-skin-cancer speech, but somehow Sugey didn't seem to need it.

The girls got in the car and drove off.

-------------------------------------------

"Oh, Velma... there were some cute dresses I wanted to try on while we were over here," Daphne told Velma excitedly as they passed one of Daphne's favorite department-store haunts.

Humoring her, Velma and Sugey followed Daphne through to the maternity department.

"I'll probably be showing before too long, you know that?" she said, more to herself than to anyone else, as she examined a rack of dresses and finally pulled off a purple one (of course!).

Velma grinned. "What happened to all those outfits you wore while you were pregnant with Janice?"

"But those are _last _year's fashions!" Daphne protested.

Shaking her head at the eternal fashionista who happened to also be her best friend, Velma followed Daphne, with Sugey close behind her.

"Hey, these are buy-one, get-one-half-off!" Daphne exclaimed, moving away from the dresses and on to a rack of camisoles. They each bore the same flowery design, but in different color schemes, the two most common ones (conveniently) being purple-and-green, and orange-and-maroon. "And with this coupon I've got... you know, Velma, the stuff here's great, you could stand to look around awhile..." Then she blushed, realizing her statement could possibly be taken as an insult.

Velma didn't take any offense, but she did hesitate. "I dunno... I don't really see the point in going all-out on something I won't be able to wear for more than a couple months, at the most..."

Daphne, of course, had a logical comeback, anything to justify more shopping. "But if this is your only baby, you may as well 'go all-out' while it's here. And if you're gonna have more, you'll be able to wear this stuff again later."

"Whatever happened to 'last year's fashions'?"

"Aw, how could this stuff ever go out of style?"

Velma laughed. "That's what you said last year."

"Well... this year it's true!"

And with that, she headed toward the changing room, dress and camis in hand.

-------------------------------------------

After convincing both herself and Velma that they both looked absolutely lovely in these new outfits (and frivolous as it seemed, Velma had to admit the stuff did look cute on them), Daphne made her way into what would naturally be the next department over: the baby clothes.

"Are you ever going to find out what sex your baby is?" Daphne asked, running her hands along a very soft, very tiny, and very pink bathrobe on the clearance rack.

"Well, when it's born... hopefully!"

"You know what I mean," Daphne said, flicking the robe at her.

"We can be patient," Velma answered. "Until then, we'll play it safe." She picked up a set of pajamas that sported a print of rubber duckies. _Cute, _thought Daphne, _but haven't ducks been done to death at this point? Why ducks, anyway? Can't they think of another good animal to print on unisex baby clothing?_

"I still say it's gonna be a boy," Sugey told them. She stared at some green T-shirts with baseballs embroidered on the front.

Daphne looked briefly at the array of newborn-sized clothes, but quickly lost interest, seeing as she didn't know herself what colors to buy yet. Instead, she found the outfits for older babies and debated whether Janice looked better in plaid or argyle.

"Jeepers, this is _adorable!_" she gasped happily, picking up a pink-and-gold skirt with violet trim. She looked for Janice's size.

"Well... this is what she wears _now_..." she thought out loud. "But somehow this looks smaller than most of her skirts. On the other hand, this next size up is probably too big for her." She came to a conclusion. "Ah, well... she'll grow into it. It's really more of a fall skirt anyway, now that I think about it. We can save it for later."

"Or," commented Sugey, "we could come back here this weekend and bring Janice with us. It'll probably be on sale by then, too. Then you can figure out what size--"

Velma and Daphne looked at each other, worried that they had made a terrible mistake: Sugey knew about Janice. They hadn't thought it was a problem before, seeing as the only time Sugey had even seen Janice face-to-face was during the wedding... and nothing went wrong then. But surely now she would wonder why Janice never got to come out in public with them. The only way to keep Sugey from asking would be to take Janice out in public, which was ruled out immediately. And explaining that Janice had to stay hidden was also out, because then they would have to explain why, and they weren't even allowed to do that.

"It's not worth the trouble," Daphne said in what she hoped was a casual voice. She placed the skirt in the basket, slightly aware that it really was strange to buy nice clothes for a kid nobody else ever saw, and that any other mother would probably just stick her in a machine-washable, plain, white onesie every day and be done with it.

"Suit yourself." Sugey shrugged, then turned back to the T-shirt she was admiring. She picked one off the rack.

"I'll get it for you, if you don't want to take the gamble," Sugey told Velma. "It'll be a present."

"Er... thanks," Velma stated uncertainly, wondering if this meant that she would have to dress a potential Marie in "boy" clothes. She then decided that a baseball really wasn't so bad. The shirt wasn't even blue.

Smiling confidantly, convinced she was right about the baby's gender, Sugey carried the shirt up to the checkout.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32:**

"Velma?" Shaggy asked, as she combed her hair before bed.

"Yeah?" Velma answered.

Shaggy was nervous for some reason, his wife could tell. Finally he started again.

"You've been hanging out with Sugey lately, right?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Well... does she like talk to you more than she talks to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... I've been wondering if I'm really getting the full story as to why she decided to stay with us for the summer. She says it's partly because of the wedding and partly because of her friend's cancelling camp at the last minute."

"That's what she told me."

"But like, I'm wondering if it's really more because of her friend. But then it seems unlikely that she would cancel because of someone who was only a friend. And I'm wondering if he's just--?"

Velma finished for him. "You're wondering if your little sister has a boyfriend."

"Except why hasn't she written any letters or made any phone calls to him? Sometimes I see her with a photograph signed 'Max,' but she always looks so..."

"Sad?"

"Exactly," Shaggy said, nodding.

"So maybe he's her ex-boyfriend."

Shaggy walked over to the window and stared out into space, both figuratively and literally as he gazed up at the stars. "Like, I'm wondering how much I've really talked to Sugey and Mom and Pops lately. Whether he's a boyfriend, an ex, or just a good friend... something just seems odd, like I've been completely oblivious to something major."

"Like your sister growing up?"

"Maybe."

"And you're wondering if she's been talking to me about... what?"

"I dunno... anything! Like this is the first I've really seen of her since college... and I feel rotten that I can't tell you what's been going on in her life! Maybe if I wrote more or called more... I'd have known she was coming. Maybe Mom and Pops would have even come."

Velma took off her glasses, revealing more of the face Shaggy found prettier every day, and climbed into bed. "So you just want me to ask her about her life, the universe, and everything?"

"Basically..."

"Forty-two," Velma said simply, concealing a joking grin at Shaggy's confusion. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. I've got another book for you to read after _Fahrenheit 451_."

"Hey, I'm halfway through..."

"Seriously, though... I'll talk to her, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. You're her brother, and I think part of the reason she came to our place this summer was simply that. I think she really wishes she could talk to you more."

Shaggy pondered his wife's insight. She had a point. He had held small conversations with Sugey over the past few weeks, but what had they really talked about? What had they really meant?

He fell asleep searching for answers... but by morning had come up with nothing.

Velma was right.

----------------------------------------

"Don't tell me you have to be at work early again!" Sugey said as Velma entered the kitchen at six a.m. "It's Saturday!"

"Don't worry," Velma told her, smiling. "I was actually thinking... see, there's this really neat trail that's beautiful this early in the morning... but if we go later in the day, it gets really crowded. You wanna try it?"

"Sure," Sugey told her, hastily finishing the donut laced with a lethal dose of chocolate icing and caramel. How Sugey had gotten through life without a single cavity was a mystery worthy of Mystery Inc. She grabbed a canteen out of the bag which had conveniently been packed for camp and filled it with lemonade. Even though Velma had been the one to suggest the hike, Sugey was ready a full twenty minutes before Velma was.

"So how long is this trail, anyway?" Sugey asked excitedly.

"About four miles," Velma told her. "But it's mostly flat terrain. I'm not supposed to be doing anything too strenuous."

"I see," Sugey replied, although this energy-ball actually seemed somewhat disappointed that it _wouldn't _be strenuous. Ah well.

The drive to the trailhead took maybe twenty-five minutes. They chattered happily, Sugey doing most of the talking. Velma felt a pang of guilt, somehow, though she couldn't put her finger on why. She was trying to help her husband and his sister. She was only going to talk to Sugey like Shaggy asked.

So why did something feel like it was about to be less light-and-carefree than Velma expected?

----------------------------------------

"Come on, Velma! We're almost to that stream you told me about, I can see it!"

"Okay..." Velma took a swig from her canteen and quickened her pace to match Sugey's. They came to the stream before long, and Velma rested on a rock as Sugey waded in the creek.

"Hey! A salamander!" Sugey exclaimed, swooping down to catch it. She allowed it to wriggle in her hands for a moment before showing it to Velma.

"A _Plethodon cinereus_," Velma muttered. "Impressive."

"Um... I thought it was a Red Back..."

"It is," Velma reassured her.

"Yeah... it's mid-July, they mate around this time of year..."

"Really? Where did you learn that?" Velma had known this herself, but she was still curious as to where Sugey had discovered this.

"Nature camp last year."

"Do you go to camp every year?" There you go, ease into it...

"Pretty much, but not the same camp all the time. It's fun to try new ones..."

"So why didn't you want to try cheerleading camp?"

Sugey looked away. She stared into the brook, watching a leaf drift onto the surface of the water and float freely downstream.

"Because of Max," she answered, when the silence became too much to bear.

Velma tried to speak gently. "Who exactly is Max, Sugey? I don't want to pry... but is he your friend, or your boyfriend?"

Sugey looked down. "He was just a friend. A really good friend. He wasn't my boyfriend."

" 'Wasn't'?"

Suddenly, Velma felt horrified as it came crashing down on her that she had been saying the wrong things all along. As Sugey's moist eyes stared straight into Velma's, her stomach lurched as the girl's expression confirmed the wild idea that had spun into Velma's head. The next sentence was almost unnecessary.

"Max is dead."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33:**

"Max is dead?" Velma felt insensitive at her response, but it just kind of slipped out.

Sugey nodded. "Yeah. He's been my best friend since third grade. We went to camp together every year. And now he's gone."

Velma was desperate to know what had happened to kill someone Sugey's age, but she decided not to ask. Sugey was talking; Sugey would decide if, when, and how to explain this.

She did that now.

"It all started last March. We were riding our bikes... and there was still a little ice on the road. We didn't think there would be any, because there was some unseasonably warm weather and we figured it would all have melted by then. He skidded on some black ice and fell into the ditch... headfirst. He wasn't wearing a helmet."

"And that was how...?"

Sugey shook her head. "No. They thought he was going to be okay. It actually wasn't that big of an injury. But it did need surgery. And it turned out he was allergic to some of the painkillers they gave him. He died from what they thought would save him. Nobody expected that."

Velma leaned over and hugged her sister-in-law, as tears rolled down the thirteen-year-old's cheeks. Sugey continued, though.

"I remember thinking he was going to be all right. I remember Mom giving me a ride to the hospital just after his surgery... I had a book on snakes I'd just finished and I wanted to show it to him, since he wanted to be a herpetologist and everything. I got there and asked them to help me find his room... and then they told me about how he died. I hoped it wasn't true, that maybe they had the names mixed up or something... but then I talked with his parents, and I saw the announcement in the paper, and his photograph... they had a special assembly at school in memory of him. Finally I had no choice but to accept it."

"But that doesn't change the fact that he's gone."

"No... that's what gets me," Sugey admitted, glad that Velma seemed to understand. "And that's why I didn't want to go to camp this year. We always go together. And if I were to go all alone, it would be like reliving his death every day all summer long. I can't do that!"

Velma felt awful. She remembered the last time she had had to comfort someone over a death... and that death hadn't even occurred, thanks to Mr. Blake's receiving an alien cure for his cancer at the last minute. And Daphne's father had been seventy years old... not thirteen. Jinkies, this was a _kid _they were talking about!

"I... I guess now it makes sense, why you would rather stay with us..." Velma still wasn't really sure what to say; she had never known a child who died before, let alone while she was still a kid herself. And here she was, comforting Sugey, who had gone through that with, of all people, her best friend.

"I'm... I'm really sorry, Sugey..."

Sugey buried her face in Velma's embrace.

"Thank you, Velma."

----------------------------------------

It was sunny out. Who expected anything else in mid-July?

But graveyards weren't supposed to be like this.

Not that Shaggy was used to visiting graveyards voluntarily; previously his experience in cemetaries had been purely for the sake of searching for clues, ghosts, and monsters-of-the-week. It was never to visit an actual _grave._

"Thanks for coming with me, Shaggy," Sugey told him as she stepped out of the car, clutching a green drawstring bag with a picture of pine trees on it, almost certainly the logo of some camp she had been to... with Max.

"N-no problem, sis," Shaggy told her, but his voice betrayed his fear. Whether it was because he possessed an innate desire to avoid tombstones in general, or because they were visiting a kid's grave, neither sibling could be absolutely sure.

"Vanover... Vearman... Veldt." She stopped at this last plot, at a headstone that was obviously less than a year old.

" 'Maxwell Veldt'," she read aloud, her voice a cold whisper that didn't match the weather at all. "Born December eighth, nineteen--"

She read the whole headstone, then said, "This doesn't do him justice. Not at all." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean... whoever made this headstone didn't know Max. All they knew was when he was born and when he died, and a cute little epitaph about how his parents loved him. If they had really known who he was..." Her voice trailed off.

"It might remind you more of him?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Well..." Shaggy felt very uncomfortable, very worried he might be saying exactly the wrong thing. But he tried.

"Well... maybe that's our job, the people who know him... or knew him. Maybe we need to leave something more, so people know who he was, what he meant to everyone who cared about him."

Sugey looked thoughtful. She reached into her bag and pulled out a simple orange-and-blue lanyard. She hung it over the stone cross atop the headstone.

"For you, Max... because we didn't get to go to camp this year and you couldn't make your own. Maybe there's camp in heaven... guess it'll be a while before I find out, huh?"

She reached in again. She pulled out a piece of peanut-butter fudge.

"Remember how we used to share these in the cafeteria? Well... you can have all of this one." She laid it down on the soil.

"And... and I meant to give this to you months ago," she said, pulling out one last thing.

She propped up the book about snakes against the stone.

"Enjoy reading it. It's... your kind of book."

Sugey stood up and hugged her brother. "I... I guess I'm ready to go now," she said after a few minutes.

They walked back to the car, Shaggy still at a loss for words. Anyone else might have found the memorial to be kind of dorky-- maybe, if they were entirely insensitive, even somewhat comical. But Shaggy didn't feel that way. Sugey had been honest... and even though Shaggy had never met Max, she had made him feel as though they had known each other for years.

"This was great of you, Shaggy. Thanks for listening to me."

"I'm sorry I wasn't a better big brother, Sugey... I should have done more to comfort you, to cheer you up..."

Sugey shook her head. "No. I needed to be sad. But it's easier to be sad when you're not alone."

They got in the car and drove off.

For the first time in years, they felt like a real brother and sister.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: **I hope to put this up on Friday (that's today). But the stupid Internet tower seems to be down and in a sleepy community like mine where nobody ever fixes anything, who knows how long it'll be before we get it back. Maybe I can still post it today, but otherwise I'll just post it (and any subsequent chapters) ASAP.

**Chapter 34:**

"So how's Janice?" Velma asked as Daphne breezed through the door. Daphne always seemed particularly jovial during the summer months, as hinted at by her sunshine-colored head scarf and bangle. Daphne smiled.

"She's good. She crawls now. And I won't say any more for fear of sounding like one of _those _mothers."

Velma giggled. "It's okay. Soon we can be 'those mothers' together. Here," she said, motioning for Daphne to come sit at the table with her, moving a few folders out of the way.

"Jeepers... they didn't cut you any slack with maternity leave, did they?"

" 'Fraid not," Velma answered, grinning, trying to be casual about it. "I've still got stuff to do... just now it's at home. But that has its perks-- I could be doing this in my pajamas if I wanted to."

"Yeah, but you aren't... that's not much of a perk!"

"Well... it's kind of nice being able to work by myself, too."

"I'm not interrupting too much, am I?"

Velma shook her head quickly. "No! Just that I actually think I do better work when I'm not with a partner."

Daphne caught the true meaning behind her words. Velma didn't really work best alone; the fact that she stuck with Mystery Inc. for all those years proved it. Both of them knew full well that there was a specific partner Velma didn't like working with.

Daphne sighed. She didn't want to bring it up, but she felt she had to.

"Velma..." she asked quietly, "have you ever thought about reporting Judd MkKay?"

Velma's face turned immediately to that pained, can-we-please-change-the-subject expression. When Daphne said nothing else, and Velma felt obligated to answer, she said, "No... it's not like he's ever really _done_ anything. Besides... if they were to replace him with a new partner I'd have to start from scratch." Velma shook more nervously than someone who really felt that nonchalant about it. But Daphne hated the way she felt like she was torturing her friend, so she gave her the benefit of the doubt and changed the subject anyway.

"I see..." she muttered. "Oh, by the way, I've got a box of Janice's old, pink clothes if your baby's a girl. We just found out mine is a boy."

Velma felt relieved at this more lighthearted conversation. "I guess we'll know before too long. He or she could come at any time, now."

"No contractions?"

"None yet." Velma grinned. "And watch, now that I've said that--"

"Don't jinx yourself," Daphne warned satirically. They both laughed.

"Actually, it'll be kind of a relief if he or she does come soon. Although..." Velma looked awkward.

"Although what?"

"Although... how much does it really hurt? Giving birth, I mean. In the movies it always looks like the worst thing in the world..."

Daphne looked thoughtful for a minute, then confessed, "I really don't know. I was drugged."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I didn't feel anything."

That was kind of a letdown, somehow. Of course it felt good to remember what century it was and that Velma probably wouldn't feel anything either, but there was something anticlimactic about this little tidbit, somehow, a certain drop in the adrenaline.

They talked a while longer, then Velma glanced at her watch in alarm.

"Oh, jinkies! I should have left to pick up Sugey twenty minutes ago!"

"Twenty minutes ago?"

"Yeah... you wanna come with me?"

"Sure. Where were you going to pick her up?" Daphne asked curiously as they got into the car.

"From therapy," Velma explained, and Daphne drew in a deep breath.

"Oh... because of...?"

"Yes, because of Max. Shaggy talked with their parents over the phone, and then he talked to her... and everyone decided it was a good idea. I was scared Sugey would be completely opposed to it... but she actually kind of seemed to want to go."

Daphne nodded silently.

"Anyway, I really think it is helping. She seems happier. Granted, she seemed okay when she first came to stay with us... but I think she likes to play the cheerful one. I think that's why it's better for her to talk with Dr. Beckett, because she doesn't like making us feel bad. She sugar-coats things. She tries so hard to be strong. But I think she's pretty strong as it is."

They drove in silence and picked up Sugey from Dr. Beckett's office. Sugey wasn't quite the chatterbox she normally was, but she wasn't crying or anything either. Head held high, she solemnly climbed into the back seat, saying nothing. She pulled out a paperback book.

"_To Kill a Mockingbird_," Daphne read from the cover, trying to make conversation. "Is that for school?"

"Yeah," Sugey nodded, and something in her eyes flickered. The more lively Sugey was slipping back. "It's actually pretty good. Much better than _Lord of the Flies, _the other book we had to read this summer. That book was pretty boring."

Daphne actually recalled that book as being somewhat gruesome, but... no, wait, that was the movie. Yeah, the book had been... actually, she skipped that assignment in eighth grade. "Do you have to do a report on it?"

"We have to do a report on one of them. Then we have to take a test on the other. We actually had a choice where we could pick two of three books. But the library didn't have _Don Quixote_, so that was out."

"Well... _Don Quixote _is a pretty long one anyway."

"Yeah, but it was worth tons of extra credit!"

Velma laughed slightly. "Are you sure you're Shaggy's sister? He never cared about extra credit... or any credit, for that matter."

"Yin and yang, I guess. That, and the kid with the highest grade in the class at the end of the year gets her name in a drawing. Every year someone from Coolsville Middle wins a trip to Seaworld."

"They never did that when we were in school!"

"They like us better, that's why," Sugey joked.

Velma made a faux angry face, then straightened up and smiled.

Until she made that wrong turn.

Granted, this was perfectly understandble. Dr. Beckett's office was pretty far out of the way, and navigating those narrow backroads was never easy for anyone. No matter; she would just turn around again at the next convenient spot.

Then the car broke down.

"I guess I'll just walk to the nearest pay phone," Daphne offerred, climbing out of the car..

"Ouch... first we take a wrong turn, then our car breaks down..." Sugey pondered. "What are we, jinxed?"

Velma turned very white as her head hit the steering wheel.

"Jinkies... we _are _jinxed!" she said, not even noticing her accidental alliteration.

Daphne gasped as she quickly registered what _that_ meant.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35:**

Shaggy nudged open the door with his elbow, gratefully allowing the air conditioning to spill over him after being out in the hot sun. He would not ordinarily have _walked_ the three miles that were the standard grocery-and-library run in such sweltering heat, but Velma had taken the car to pick up Sugey, and when you opened the pantry to find you were entirely out of Scooby Snacks... you just couldn't wait until the car came back. Had the heat not fried his mind, he might have noticed the strange fact that the car was still gone, even though he had been away for over two hours.

Of course, he didn't have much time to look out in the driveway. The second he stepped over the threshold, Scooby practically pounced on him. Groceries and books flew everywhere, mercifully never in such a way that would allow the food to stain the pages. Those librarians had the sternest looks that always implied dire consequences should the books be desecrated. "Scooby!" Shaggy exclaimed frustratedly.

"Rorry," Scooby responded, giggling and reaching for the box of Scooby Snacks that had conveniently landed right on top of him.

"Yeah, yeah... like just help me pick this up!" Shaggy told him, quickly reaching for a certain volume that had slid across the kitchen tile and concealing the small tome in his back pocket. Sure, Shaggy had never felt too insecure about his masculinity in front of anyone-- let alone his _dog_-- but he wasn't sure how his having checked out a book of baby names would come across. But they _still _didn't have a fitting name for a boy, and they had to get some ideas from somewhere. Maybe tonight he and Velma could flip through the book together... if she wasn't too busy (the operative word there being "too").

Speaking of Velma...

"Hey, Scoob..." Shaggy questioned as he put the groceries away. "Where's Velma... and Sugey?"

"Ri ruh ro," Scooby responded, putting more inside his mouth than inside the refrigerator.

"That's odd..." Shaggy checked his watch, then looked out the window. Now he noted the missing car.

"Zoinks! Like shouldn't they have gotten back decades ago?" He thought a minute. "Hey... maybe she left a note or something explaining why she would be gone longer. Help me look, will ya?"

Scooby nodded and the two scrutinized the kitchen... then the living room... then Shaggy and Velma's bedroom... then the basement. No note was to be seen.

"Hey Scooby... she didn't say anything about stopping by to pick up groceries herself, did she?" A redundant grocery run (not that such a thing truly existed among the Rogers) was entirely plausible... but would it have really taken two hours?

"Ruh-uh..." Scooby muttered confusedly.

"Okay..." Shaggy searched his head for possibilities but came up with nothing. He sighed.

"She and Daphne both left to pick up Sugey, as I recall. Like, Daphne probably talked her into dropping by the mall or something." Shaggy set his hand down on something. Velma's tote. With her credit card in it, no doubt. She would surely have brought it with her if she were going to do any shopping.

"No... I guess not..." he breathed, sitting down to think.

The phone rang. Shaggy picked it up.

"Hi, Shaggy!" Sugey's voice greeted him. "Boy, this is like the fourth time I tried to call, why didn't you answer before?"

"Sugey! Where are you guys?"

"Girls," Sugey jokingly corrected him. "I mean, you and Scooby were both home. Maybe Scooby was asleep in the basement... or else just didn't answer because he doesn't have thumbs..."

"Fine, _girls_," Shaggy amended. "Seriously, though, where--?"

"We're at the hospital," Sugey said, threatening to burst out laughing.

Shaggy almost dropped the phone, interpreting the only possible reason for his sister (or anyone, for that matter) to be laughing while explaining that she was at the hospital. Why did he feel like he was always the last to hear everything?

Tounge-tied, he sputtered, "I'll drive quickly and baby there as soon as I can..."

"We've got the car, remember?" Sugey informed him, ignoring his apparently unnoticed Freudian slip. "Listen, don't worry too much... the baby's already here..."

"What?"

"He was born in the car after it broke down. Toldja it was a boy," Sugey told her brother smugly. "We called an ambulence after we found a pay phone. Actually, we called you first, but you never picked up," she accused.

"Sorry..." Shaggy told her calmly, then snapped back to his excited state.

Sugey continued. "He came awful fast, like before the ambulence even arrived. Of course since we're out in the middle of nowhere they had trouble finding us and that slowed them down. They wanted to take him and Velma to the hospital anyway, just to make sure they were both okay, routine precautions, you know the drill."

Shaggy nodded, forgetting that Sugey couldn't see him nod over the phone. He actually did not know the drill, seeing as in his book the hospital was to be avoided at all costs. Needles carried the same formidable intimidation as ghosts.

He forgot about this fear at the moment, though. "I'll walk to the hospital, then," he told his sister just before hanging up.

He dashed outside, not even caring about the heat this time. And this time, he was running.

------------------------------------------------------------

Nine miles later, through heat in the upper-nineties (with a humidity Shaggy didn't even want to know about), some people might have assumed Shaggy was about to be admitted to the Coolsville Hospital himself, owing to his tomato-red skin and the fact that he was sweating profusely. At the very least the feat was crazy enough to ponder his sanity and place him in the _other _hospital. He felt a brief instance of deja vu from the last time he entered this building, about nine months ago. But then it wasn't _his _wife or _his _baby.

He managed somehow, in his state of confusion, to find the maternity ward, and was stopped by a tall, African-American doctor with a clipboard.

"Are you Mr. Norville Rogers?" he asked.

"Call me Shaggy. Where's Velma?"

"Here, follow me. She and your son are just undergoing some routine examinations to make sure nothing went wrong during the birth."

"Nothing has, has it?" Shaggy asked nervously.

The doctor chuckled slightly. "So far so good. He weighs four pounds, thirteen ounces--"

"And you're _sure _nothing's wrong?" Shaggy inquired, rather alarmed at this slight weight.

"Relax, Mr. Rogers. Despite his size he seems to be one of the healthiest children the Coolsville Hospital has seen in years... and it's a shame we didn't get to deliver him ourselves!"

"Wait a minute. If nobody else was around, who _did_ deliver him?"

The doctor paused. He then asked, "I take it the woman and the girl who accompanied Mrs. Velma Rogers are friends of yours?"

Shaggy nodded. "Well... the girl is my sister..."

"She is also a very capable young lady. Good head on her shoulders. She and the woman both helped deliver the child."

Shaggy had to hand it to his sister, she had been much more cool, calm, and collected than he ever could have been. Still, the son being delivered by his thirteen-year-old aunt...

"Here we are. Your wife seems really anxious to see you. She wants to name your son, but obviously she was waiting until you arrived and she could get your approval."

"Like anything's good. I was really worrying because we still didn't have a name picked out!"

"She says it was one of your friends... you said she was your sister?... who suggested it on the way here..."

"So what name did they pick out?" Shaggy was dying to know!

The doctor blinked, then responded, completely unaware of the significance of what he was saying.

"Max." He strode off and disappeared down the hall.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36:**

"Sorry, Sugey. But you do have school tomorrow!" Velma told her sister-in-law cheerfully as she helped her pack her belongings at the end of a long summer. Velma, of course, was folding everything perfectly neatly, whereas Sugey was cramming everything haphazardly into the duffel bag.

"Like, Mom and Pops will be here in less than half an hour, Sugey. Pick up the pace a little, will you?" Shaggy commented, poking his head into the room and observing how many of Sugey's belongings still lay strewn about. His wife and sister nodded, speeding up slightly. Shaggy left again.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you guys," Sugey said in a reserved voice (for her, anyway).

"No problem," Velma told her, folding up a t-shirt whose wrinkled state implied that this was perhaps the first time anyone had folded it in a while. Then she started in on organizing the back-to-school supplies she, Sugey, and Daphne had picked out maybe a week or two ago. "Back to reality, huh?" she asked, holding up a pack of blue erasable pens.

"Yeah..."

"Well... in about two weeks I have to go back to work, so I guess we're in the same boat here."

"Two weeks? That soon?" Sugey asked, although she had learned by now not to be too surprised at this sort of statement from Velma. "That's not very long for maternity leave--"

"I know," Velma said. She was really starting to tire of this kind of conversation. "But I really should be getting back."

Sugey nodded, understanding but not liking it.

"Well, I guess that about does it," Velma said after about ten more minutes. "And Sugey? We really are glad you came to stay with us this summer."

"It's been fun, hanging out with you and Shaggy and Scooby and... Max..." Even though the name had been her suggestion, and she adored her new nephew to the point of practically spoiling him, it was still hard for her to say the name without a brief flicker of sadness darting across her eyes.

Velma smiled. "I'm sure Max will miss you. As much as the rest of us."

They hugged, just as they heard a car pull up in the driveway. They dashed outside, Sugey's bag in her hand. Shaggy came out too, holding Max to meet his grandparents. The baby was dressed in the shirt Sugey had gotten him a few weeks back.

" 'Bye Velma! 'Bye Shaggy! 'Bye Scooby! 'Bye Max!" Sugey called as she loaded her stuff into the back trunk. It was very fortunate her parents were preoccupied with cooing over the little boy... she wasn't sure how much trouble she would be in for an offense committed three months ago.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Velma crept into her bedroom and stared at the clock. Three-thirty a.m. That really _had _taken forever.

She tried to get back into bed without disturbing Shaggy, but alas, she tripped over her own slippers and practically fell on top of him.

"Velma? 'S'at you?" Shaggy's tired, slurred speech questioned.

"Yeah, it's me. Remember, we both woke up to Max's crying... I left to feed him?"

_Zoinks, like, how long ago was that? _Shaggy wondered, but decided it was not a question to ask the sleep-deprived. Still, he did mutter, "You were gone for kind of a while..."

"Sorry, feeding him took forever. The kid's a bottomless pit. Remind you of anyone?"

Shaggy grinned in spite of his exhaustion. "Just wait until he's old enough for Scooby Snacks!"

"Not _my _baby!" Velma told him in an exaggeratedly exasperated tone. "No solids at all until two-to-three months, at least..."

Shaggy laughed slightly and put an arm around his wife. "Think he'll be like me?"

"Who knows? He could have the best of both worlds..."

"Well, I finished _Fahrenheit 451_, so if he's like you..."

"He won't outdo his father in _everything_," Velma said.

"He wouldn't either way. Challenge me to a hot-dog-eating contest, any day."

"Didn't we just go over his appetite? It's yours, for sure."

"Hey, it's a healthy appetite. Remember what the doctors said, about his health?"

"Oh, right. 'The healthiest in years.' Always reassuring."

"Yeah..."

They lay there in silence, then Shaggy asked, "Like, don't you wish you didn't have to go back to work tomorrow? That you could stay home with him a while longer, or that you at least weren't spending so much time--?"

"Shaggy, you know the only way we could afford this house is with our combined salaries. One of us can't just quit..."

"No... but seriously, Velma..." Shaggy actually sat up in bed, his arms hanging over the tops of his knees. "Like, you don't really need to be working so hard... do you? I mean, what if you came back to work with the rest of us, and we could be Mystery Inc. again? The rest of us got a raise just the day before yesterday... if we were both working my job we could still have enough money!"

"Shaggy..." Velma sat up too, and turned to face him. "Shaggy, it's not just the money. It's the team. I can't just walk out on them like this... not when there's so much we can--"

"Which team?" Shaggy asked suddenly.

Velma was about to respond that of course she was talking about the HTRT when she stopped, having been forced to think. "Which team?" _Which team?_

Of course... Velma had made commitments long before ever joining the HTRT. She had committed herself to Mystery, Inc. while they were still children. She had even committed herself to Shaggy... and their unborn baby... without truly even realizing it at the time.

And who did she really want to be committed to?

-------------------------------------------------------------

Velma stared at her son for the longest time before leaving for work. She knew exactly what the day held in store for both of them. Velma would leave for work. Max would be dropped off at day care, then Shaggy would leave for work. Shaggy would pick up Max and bring him home. Velma would come home... bringing a boatload of papers and graphs and charts and other meaningless paraphernalia with her. She would work on it until Shaggy finished making dinner, and then she would grab a quick bite to eat. Then she would work some more until nine or ten or eleven. She would climb into bed, feed Max at some point during the night, then leave again at five in the morning.

What was wrong with this picture?

She watched the sleeping boy for a while longer. He looked entirely innocent. Like he deserved something... something Velma wasn't giving him.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Max," she whispered to her son, even though he wouldn't understand a word she said. "I'm sorry I'm not a better mother. I'm sorry it'll be days or weeks before I really have any time to spend with you. I'm sorry I can't get to know you as well as I'd like. I--"

Velma stopped herself. Why was she apologizing?

She hadn't _done _anything yet.

And because she hadn't done anything... she didn't _need_ to do anything. As long as she did one major something...

She braced herself for a quantum leap.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: **Sorry it's been a while since I updated. Schoolwork is crazy your junior year, believe me. But I really hope (though I'm not making any promises) to finish this this weekend. There are two more chapters after this one. I guess this has kind of dragged on a while anyway. Future stories will be shorter. That I _will_ promise. Future stories also will not be sequels. I am done with this.

**Chapter 37:**

Daphne stood on one leg near the lunchroom. The CCC actually had several lunchrooms, and this wasn't the one she normally used, but she needed to talk to Velma, who, like the rest of the HTRT, would surely be eating in the one nearest the labs.

_Please don't be mad at me, Velma, _Daphne willed nervously. _But I had to. You know I'm still a "meddling kid."_

Sure enough, Velma came down the hall, a brown lunch bag in her left hand. She stopped when she saw her friend waiting in front of the double doors.

"Velma, I'm really sorry I did this..." Daphne started.

Velma stood there, blinking. Did she know already?

Daphne exhaled and explained. "I told them about Judd MkKay. About how he stalked you in Singapore, and how he tried to break up you and Shaggy. He's going to be fired, if he hasn't been already."

Velma only stared at Daphne, her face completely expressionless. Daphne had to break the silence with something.

"Look, Velma, I'm sorry. But I saw that he was making you miserable and I couldn't just--"

"Daphne." Finally, Velma was speaking. "As awful as he was, Judd MkKay isn't what was really making me miserable."

"Velma--" Was Daphne's friend about to deny, once again, that something was seriously wrong here?

"No, Daphne." Velma walked through the doors. Daphne followed her to the juice machine. Velma slipped the coins in, pushed the button for cran-raspberry, and turned to face Daphne.

"Don't get me wrong, Daphne. I really appreciate what you did for me. I really do. Because the truth is I was kind of scared of him. But it really doesn't matter too much that he's been fired."

Daphne raised her eyebrows. Velma continued.

"Because I just quit the HTRT."

Daphne breathed in sharply. "Velma, I'm sorry, I know it meant a lot--"

"No, Daphne. Actually it didn't. I think I was more worried about the status associated with the job than with anything else the job had to offer. You know my whole life I've been 'the smart one'."

Daphne nodded.

"And everyone always told me I was special, that it was really important for me to apply myself, be the best I could be..." Velma sat down at a table and pulled a banana out of her lunch sack. "But honestly, I think I'd rather be free from that kind of job if it meant spending more time with the people I care about. With Mystery Inc. With my new family. I've been a workaholic. You know that."

"So you won't be bogged down all the time anymore?"

"Today I went in to the HTRT to wrap up some loose ends on some final projects. I just finished. This afternoon, it's back to working with the rest of you."

"Really?" Daphne couldn't help smiling at that. Velma was a great person, first as Daphne's best friend, second as a team member... but she made a pretty good coworker as well. Daphne was grateful to have her back.

Velma smiled. "Yep. I really missed you guys."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Shaggy wandered back into the workroom after a standard fourteen-sandwich lunch. It was getting pretty lonely in that place. If it weren't for the fact that he was supposed to be matching up DNA samples for some alien race that had possibly roamed in an area in which they were not authorized, Shaggy would have said it was one of the most boring assignments in the world. Usually Scooby worked with him, but today he had security duty with Fred.

He saw the sweatered figure a split second before wondering if it was too good to be true.

But no, she was there.

"Velma, like, hi!" he said. "Aren't you supposed to be with the HTRT?"

"Not anymore," Velma said, "and let me guess. You haven't a clue how to start on any of this." She motioned toward the testing paraphernalia.

"You got it," Shaggy said, laughing slightly.

Velma donned a pair of goggles and a white plastic lab apron. Shaggy was amazed at how Velma was the one person on the planet who truly looked _good_ in that apron... sexy, even... even after having a kid. Hey, the apron was Velma's element. Velma, the most intelligent and beautiful person alive, whom he was lucky enough to be _married_ to.

"You're back," he said as she picked up some bottles and mixed some chemicals of a variety Shaggy could never identify in an Erlenmeyer flask.

"Yes," she answered happily. "I'm back."

Shaggy couldn't resist. He threw his arms around her and kissed her, open-mouthed. Velma giggled and stepped away.

"Shaggy, you almost made me drop this flask! If that happened... we would be so busted!"

"Like, no we wouldn't... but the glass might be!"

Velma laughed and kissed him this time. Ah well. Technically they still had ten minutes before lunch break was supposed to end anyway. Ten blissful minutes of sheer unprofessionalism.

This was great. It was reminiscent of that one time... jinkies, it was over a year ago! That time when they first kissed. That time when Velma had been really mad at him, had been pushing him away... but he was still there. And he still wanted her to come back.

It was nice to be back.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: **This is the penultimate chapter. THE END IS NEAR. But not here yet.

**Chapter 38:**

Snow was falling. Perfect.

The slopes were waiting.

Velma and Shaggy buckled Max into his car seat inside the Mystery Machine, right next to Janice's. The great thing about the fact that Daphne's father owned the ski resort was that for a few days, he could close it to everyone but Mystery Inc. Janice's secret was safe. One might have argued that what did it matter, Janice was far too young to ski anyway, but it was nice being able to have normal, "family," trip, as normal as either the Jones or the Rogers families ever would be.

Daphne came out of the house, holding the tiny bundle that was Daniel in her arms. True to Daphne's holiday prediction, he had arrived almost at the stroke of midnight between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Sure, his birthday was officially December 24, but Mystery Inc. would probably always consider him a Christmas baby. Daphne had even posed the possibility of naming him Nicholas, but Fred had really been looking forward to naming him Daniel, so they dismissed the suggestion.

Daphne placed Daniel into the newborn-sized car seat. "You know," she commented, sliding into the front seat next to Freddie, "It was pretty sweet of Daddy to set up that one little room as a nursery over at the lodge."

"Yeah," the others agreed. The whole thing was pretty amazing. Everyone in the gang, except of course Scooby and the newest members, was married. They had children, who were already growing up too fast. At one year old, Janice was now taking her first steps, her unnecessity for walking not preventing her from learning in the slightest. Max was four-and-a-half months old and as active as a kid could be at that age. Daniel was the baby now... already four days old.

The van drove off, fuller than it ever had been, happier than it ever had been.

----------------------------------------

Velma was just putting her skis away after venturing a new slope with Daphne when it struck her like lightning.

_How could she have forgotten?_

She raced up to the lodge, where Shaggy and Scooby were engaged in a juvenile game involving the marshmallows from their hot chocolate and the utterance of a phrase concerning rotund logomorphs.

"Rubby Runnies," Scooby said, perhaps eighteen marshmallows crammed into his cheeks at once.

"Ha! You lose, Scoob!" Shaggy told him victoriously. Scooby made a face, his canine speech impediment having once again lost him a round of Chubby Bunnies.

"Shaggy..." Velma told her husband, approaching their table.

"Like, hi, Velma..." Shaggy told her, almost forgetting to swallow his marshmallows first.

Velma motioned for him to follow her outside, but she stopped by the nursery first, where Fred was taking his shift with the kids.

"Hey, Freddie... can we have ours back?" Velma asked jokingly.

She picked up her son and bundled him up. She carried him outdoors as she led Shaggy to the smooth patch of icy snow near the parking lot. Shaggy was still inquisitive, until she handed him a shovel. Now he had an idea, but still...

"This is my New Year's resolution," Velma explained.

"Aw, Velma, that's like not for another few--"

"I'm not talking about next year's resolution, Shaggy. I'm talking about this one."

Shaggy thought back. "About not being a procrastinator?"

Velma laughed. "Well... obviously I didn't keep that one too well. I made a second resolution and now I'm just getting around to it." She started cutting blocks with her own shovel, somehow managing while holding Max at the same time.

Shaggy caught on and quickly helped assemble the igloo. They moved quickly and efficiently, the baby somehow not slowing them in the least.

There. It was done.

Eagerly, the little family crawled inside, keeping each other warm. Max smiled. He seemed to understand that his parents had meant to do this a long time ago.

"So," Shaggy began, after nobody had said anything for a while. "Like... it's been quite a year, hasn't it?"

Velma nodded, thinking. "I guess we just had to come back to the igloo, you know that?"

"Definitely," Shaggy wholeheartedly agreed.

"Because I think this is where everything else started."

Shaggy's mind replayed the scene that had occurred about a year and a month ago. The scene he didn't think he would ever forget. Three and a half hours of sheer bliss... and blizzard.

He looked down at the infant he was cradling. He now believed Velma's statement was correct. He kissed the child's forehead.

"It's also where we got the courage, I think," she continued. Shaggy saw how she was correct in this matter also. She was referencing how she and Shaggy had kept their love a secret for a while. But now they had their whole lives meshed around each other. How could they have ever done that much without first stating the basic, simple fact that they were in love?

"And like, look at us... a year later."

"A lot can happen in a year."

"Like, just wait and see what might happen after another one... or two... or ten or twelve..."

" 'Till death do us part,' " Velma stated, happily feeling the words' significance in realizing that they really would be together in ten or twelve years, and in fifteen... twenty... fifty... maybe, if they were lucky, they would both live long enough to someday celebrate their diamond anniversary. Who knew?

"And can we build the igloo next year? And maybe the year after that?"

"Sure... why not? We can make it a tradition!"

Shaggy smiled, the anticipation gripping the three of them and warming the icy igloo into feeling like a tropical hut in paradise. A family tradition.

A family.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39: Twelve years later**

"That was sweet!" Max told Janice and their friend Jared as they exited the newest slope at the Blake Ski Resort. The Triple Black Diamond. The nightmare of all overprotective parents.

Who didn't, of course, have superheroes for children.

Daniel was waiting at the bottom. The chicken. Superpowers did nothing to quiet his fear of heights.

"C'mon, Janice... you promised!" Daniel told his sister, motioning for her to follow him over to the bunny hill. Janice turned, faced Max and Jared, and shrugged, accompanying her brother toward his preferred slope.

Max watched her go, that long mass of red-and-blonde (but somehow never reddish-blonde) hair poking out from under her cap. Jared poked him in the side.

"You like her, don'tcha?" he asked gleefully.

Max said nothing but scooped up a snowball, which Jared ducked from just in time.

"There you are, Max! The rest of us have been waiting!"

Mrs. Rogers' bright orange winter coat appeared out of the torrent of snowflakes spewing from the snow machine.

"Later, man!" Jared told his friend as he jumped back on the ski lift to go around again.

Velma waited until Jared was out of earshot. "I hope you were careful out on the slopes, Max," she said as she led him around to their family's spot, where, year after year, the igloo always came back.

"Don't worry, Mom! You know I'm immortal."

Velma gritted her teeth. She really was tired of having to remind her son of this fact after so many years.

"Max, your ability to heal yourself, spectacular though it might be, does _not _make you immortal!"

Max roled his eyes.

"Look, I'm serious," his mother told him. "If you split your head open and died before you had the chance to heal yourself, you would be gone. Do you understand?"

Max nodded, mostly to humor his mother.

"And what if Jared had seen you?"

"He probably just would have been glad that I was okay."

"And what if you received a really horrendous injury... then he saw you up and walking around five minutes later? Do you want to just blow our cover like that? You're lucky we never had to hide you. Hasn't Janice ever told you what that felt like?"

Max nodded sincerely this time. Janice obviously didn't talk much about her concealment for so long, mostly because they usually weren't far enough away to avoid the risk of another of their friends hearing them. But when she did confide in him, Max felt a sort of guilty gratitude that his ability wasn't obvious enough to worry about hiding it from other people.

"Yeah... I guess I'm glad you never hid me."

"You'd better be!" came the voice of his ten-year-old brother, Albert. Poor Al. Much as he enjoyed being able to see all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, the fact that his bombardment of radio signals had constantly distracted him for the first seven or eight years of his life had placed him in the "special needs" room at school. The teachers had been confused for a while that such a boy could also reveal random facts and knowledge, which he obtained whenever someone happened to mention the information in a radio or TV signal. Velma and Shaggy had decided to homeschool him to avoid further questions. It wasn't until he was perhaps nine years old that he finally managed to tune out any signals he didn't need to focus on, and the boy had been enjoying his previous two years of public-school life.

"Yeah, Max. Do you know how lucky you are?" nine-year-old Marie's voice came from around the igloo she and her father were already halfway through. Marie Curie Rogers had had it even worse than her brothers. Invisibility was perhaps the most useful ability of the three, but only when it was a matter of doing it at will. Marie had not only been kept out of school; she, like Janice, had been kept isolated until she managed to keep her powers under control. In fact, it wasn't until the semester following Christmas break that she herself would start school, although Velma and Shaggy had been allowing her out in public for nearly three years now.

"All right, like, if you kids don't pitch in, there's no way we can build an igloo big enough for all of us!" Shaggy exclaimed as he heaved another brick onto the structure.

Albert and Marie eagerly grabbed their shovels and cut some more bricks, as Velma helped her husband to actually stack them. Max took one glance over at the ski slopes... where all his friends were, no doubt.

"Mom?" he asked then, reluctantly picking up the shovel. "Why do we have to put this igloo together every year, anyway?"

"Because we're a family, Max!" Velma could understand her son's feelings. He really was a champion skier, especially for a twelve-year-old. He was ambitious and almost certainly wanted to get back to practicing. Velma knew what it was like to get so caught up in your abilities and dreams, that you forgot what mattered at the moment.

"You'll understand someday, Max. But right now..."

Shaggy finished for her.

"Some things are just traditional."

**The End**

**A/N: **Okay... now I'm done. Please review. In the future, I'll try not to waste so much of your time... future stories WILL BE SHORTER. Thank you.


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